Iron County register. [volume], August 03, 1911, Image 6

About Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
1CP-
3ad Water
1PT
OW grossly inconsistent
we are! When, lor - the
sake of gam, a Missouri
physician administered ty
phoid germs to some of .
his relatives, thereby
causing six or eight ill
nesses and one death, we
stood aghast, called the
physician a murderer, and
clapped him into prison for life. And
when, during the Spanish-American war,
some twenty-five hundred of the boys
in khaki were needlessry slaughtered,
many of them by typhoid, we denounced
in scathing terms those officials whose
carelessness and Incompetency caused
the tragedy. But we hear with abso
lute indifference the statement that
yearly the pollution of our water
sources needlessly causes more than
185,000 typhoid illnesses and 15,000
deaths. We pay no heed to the fact
that year after year in the United
States seven times as many people are
needlessly ill of typhoid fever as there
were soldiers wounded in the battle of
' .... i .
vrcujauurg, ana mree times as many
persons needlessly die from tvDhoiii
fever as met death in that tragic strug
Ie. It is the old, old story of the mote
and the beam. We do not see the enor
mity of this terrible wrong,' because we
are ourselves the authors of it. We are just
as responsible for those 15,000 yearly deaths
as our army officers were for the tragedies
in our Spanish war camps. And our motive
is just as mercenary as was that of the physi
cian who gave typhoid germs to gain a her
itage. For we, too, are actuated by financial
reasons: we are unwilling to pay the price
of water purification. So we continue to smite
the rock of a polluted water supply and there
gushes forth sewage. And when our children
ask for water we give them poison,
To be suitable that Is, to be potable and does every spring, the pump
fit for domestic use water must be practl- well is flooded with the foul-
cany tree rrom pathogenic germs, color, sedi
ment, odor, taste and turbidity. Hardness
makes laundering difficult. Iron spoils linen.
Carbonic-acid gas turns water pipes brown.
Algae make water taste bad. Water supplies
differ widely as human beings, "Pure, whole
some water," the term set forth In so manv
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NURSE PRO TEM
By MARY EASTWOOD KNEVELS
(Copyright, lull, by AaaociMwi Uterai-y Phh.)
Is a string of good-sized
towns Plymouth, Wilkes
Barre, Wyoming, Blooms
burg, Nanticoke, and others,
all of which empty sewage
into the river, and a number
of which take their drinking
water direct from the river.
Wilkes-Barre does, and its
pumping station is on an
Island In the river. When
the stream overflows, as it
est of water the rolled river
flow containing suspended
sewage and the reeking, sul
phurous waste of coal mines.
They make an effort to clean this pump-well.
Perhaps they succeed and perhaps they do
not. The point is that the pvnpnriirnro np
water contracts, is, then, wholly a relative little money would protect the pumping sta-
v.i,,. ncaijjr imic waier ih u litre Lllinu. ne- lion rrnm lnnnrintlnn
cause there hardly exists In nature water that
does not contain some foreign Ingredients.
Not all of these are harmful, however, so that
water that Is fit to drink Is as common as
really pure water Is rare. So that, generally
speaking, the question of a good water supply
is merely a question of being willing to spend
the money necessary to obtain It. Hence
there ought to be no community in the United
States that does not have a plentiful supply
of perfectly wholesome water.
Anything but wholesome, however, is the
quality of the water that all too often we
actually get. Dr. F. W. Shumway, reporting
on water conditions in Michigan, says in part:
'0f the ninety-nine replies received, 79 per
cent reported the water as good, 11 per cent
as fair, and 10 per cent as of bad quality. . . .
The replies from 124 localities indicate that
in 43 per cent of these localities the public
water supplies are in danger of contamina
tion." Dr. Q. O. Sutherland, discussing water
conditions in Wisconsin, says that in his state
"'nearly every stream used for any kind of
supply Is contaminated to some extent by
sewage." Health Commissioner G. A. Bading,
speaking of Milwaukee's water supply, says
that most of the city's water comes from Lake
Michigan, but that there are still 5,000 wells
in existence, 91 per cent of which have been
shown to be contaminated. Lake Michigan
is the source of water for many other towns
near it. One of the tributaries of Lake Michi
gan is the Grand Calumet river. And here is
what Health Commissioner W. A. Evans, of
"Chicago, has to say of th& Grand Calumet:
'The greater part of the sewage from the
business and residential districts (of Ham
mond, Ind.) empties into the Grand Calumet,
which, as It flows through Hammond, Is al
most unspeakably vile and putrescent. And
this stream empties into the lake only 3,000
feet from the waterworks Intake." Dr. Ed
ward Bartow, analyzing conditions in. Illinois,
says that "an examination of the untreated
lake water shows that unsatisfactory water is
frequently delivered at Evanston, Lake For
est, Glencoe, North Chicago, Waukegan, Wll
mette and Winnetlta. , . . And that the wa
ter supplies of all cities which use unflltered
lake water are shown to be impure at times."
And this condition of the water supply may
be taken as typical of the entire country. A
very considerable proportion of our drinking
water Is absolutely unfit for human consump
tion. Criminal negligence Is the sole and only
cause of such a condition. We dig a cesspool
and a well in the same yard, and the contents
of the one seep through the earth Into the
other. We place a privy vault a few feet from
our well hole, and the rans wash the filth
from the former into the latter. We defile the
surface of the ground so that every rainstorm
sweeps the defilement into our streams. Did
you ever stand at the edge of a barnyard and
watch the rain falling from the roof of the
barn and pig pen to the manure piles below,
slowly accumulating in pools of reddish black,
and draining away into a nearby stream, and
so on into some one's' drinking water? Or
have you ever -stood by a river bank and
watched, a sewer belching forth its infinitely
more harmful human corruption? The idea
of drinking such nauseating stuff is not pleas
ant; but that Is exactly what millions of us
are doing. Like the dog, we have turned to
ur own vomit. For, to quote Theodore Hor
ton, Chief Engineer of the New York State
. Health Department, "We pump filth into a
stream by one pipe, and by another pipe we
pump It out again to drink."
Let me give you some concrete Instances
of how our drinking water Is defiled. In rural
New York inspectors from Ithaca found a
farmer, who patterning after Hercules' meth
od of cleaning the Augean stables, had built
his tarn directly over a large brook, which
carried away all his stable manure. This
crook was one of the sources of Ithaca's wa
ter supply. ' , '
Along the valley of the Susquehanna there
New York state has the same tale of pollu
tion to tell. Albany, Cohoes, Dunkirk, Lock
port, Niagara Falls, Ogdensburg, . Oswego,
Tonawanda, Watervliet, and other cities drink
river water that Is grossly polluted by the
sewage of cities farther upstream. And 1 have
seen dozens of photographs or filthy cow-sheds
and barns, the drainage from which polluted
the watershed for New York City.
In Illinois fifteen towns north of Chicago
empty sewage into Lake Michigan, and nine
of them draw their drinking water back from
the lake. And what is true of Pennsylvania,
and New York, and Illinois, is also true of
other states. Particularly Is it true of the
south. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
the Gulf to the Lakes, our people are need
lessly drinking polluted water.
sons died; in Lowell
132 out of 550; In
Lawrence 34 out of
141. Of 514 cases
in New Haven 73
resulted fatally.
Butler had 68
deaths and 1,270
cases. In Scranton
there were 111
deaths and 1,115
cases; in Cleveland
472 deaths and
3,443 cases; and in
Philadelphia 1,063 deaths and 9,721 cases. In
every case the death rate has been terrible, ris
ing, in many Instances, to several hundred per
100,000 population.
The U. S. Census Bureau report for 1908 shows
11,375 typhoid deaths in the registration area,
and for 1909 there were 10,722 deaths an aver
age or about 11,000 a years. The registration
IMPIWthflW
What is worlSe, water pollution is on the in- ff,8 lncl"dejs ony 51 per cent of the total popu-
crcase. "With' the rapid growth of our popu
lation," says Alec H. Seymour, Secretary of
the New York State Board of Health, in a re
cent bulletin, "the defilement of our streams
also increases. Some of our finest streams
and lakes are being rendered unavailable for
boating, bathing, fishing, and domestic use.
They are of no value except as cesspools."
Typhoid fever one cannot contract without
taking into one's system germs that have been
voided by a typhoid patient. These germs
get into the body through the mouth, pass
through the stomach into the intestines, and
are carried through the body by the blood.
They leave the body through the bowels and
In the urine. Sometimes Infection: Is carried
by contact or through vegetables, and milk;
but tb,e common channel of typhoid transmis
sion Is through our water supply. "In order
that germs could find entrance Into drinking
water," to quote Dr. Howe again, "there must
have been carelessness in caring for the body
wastes of previous victims." And this care
lessness, as we have seen, ' consists for the
most part In allowing our water sources to be
polluted with sewage.
In consequence, typhoid, winter cholera, and
diarrhoea are most prevalent along water
courses used for both sewage disposal and
water supply. Conversely the typhoid rate
of any town continuously using a given water
supply fairly represents the sanitary quality
of that water supply.
The trath of this will be seen by a com
parison of the typhoid rates of towns using
clean water with the rates of towns using
polluted water. In Michigan, for Instance,
Allegan, a town of 2,795 population (In 1904)
with a pure water supply, bd, between 1889
and 1906, 32 cases of typhoid and 4 deaths.
South Haven, a town of 2,767 Inhabitants, with
water drawn from Lake Michigan within 100
feet of a sewer outlet, had In the same period
245 cases and 24 deaths. Manistee, with 12,320
population and pure water from wells, had
during these same years a typhoid rate of 15
per 100,000 population; whereas Menominee,
with 10,666 population and polluted water from
Green Bay, had a typhoid rate per 100,000 of
84. Hartford, Mich., with 1,246 population and
Impure well water, had, between f889 and
1906, 24 typhoid cases and 7 deaths; whereas
Montague, with 1,021 population and pure well
water, had in the same period only 6 cases
and 3 deaths. Again, Benton Harbor, with
pure water from deep wells, had a death rate
per 100,000 of 17.8; Grand Haven, with pure
well water, a rate of 13.8; and St. Joseph,
with pure lake water, a rate of 12.8; whereas
the following New York towns using polluted
river or lake water had for ten years 1899
to 1908 these typhoid rates: Lockport, 48.4;
Oswego, 49.4; Ogdensburg, 54.6; Cohoes, 84.8;
Niagara Falls, 132.9; and Pittsburg, using
polluted river water, had a typhoid rate, from
1900 to 1907, that averages 127 per 100,000.
Before the typhoid rate of cities that have
been scourged with epidemics, the high ty
phoid mortality of such cities as PittBburg
and Niagara Falls dwindles Into Insignificance.
In Watertown 44 out of 582 cases were fatal;
In Ithaca 82 out of 1,350; In Pittsburg 432
out of 5,265. In Plymouth 114 out of 1,104 per-
latlon, and does not include the South, where the
typhoid rate is very high. In ten southern states
the average rate has been 79. "Twenty thousand
deaths a year," says Dr. William Guilfoy, Regis
trar of Vital Statistics of New York City, "would
be a very conservative estimate of the total an
nual typhoid mortality." Certainly this is a con
servative estimate, for the complete census of
1900 showed 33(679 typhoid deaths that year.
For the sake of being conservative, however, let
us take Dr. Guilfoy's figures. They are large
enough.
The dead, it has long been held, amount to not
more than one-tenth of the total number of those
stricken. , "But recent studies," to quote Mr.
George C. Whipple, "Indicate only one death in
16 or 18 cases." If we allow one death for every
twelve cases an estimate that Dr. Guilfoy says
is entirely within the mark we shall have the
tremendous annual total of about 250,000 caws.
Think of It a quarter of a million people yearly
stricken with typhoid!
Recall the largest parade you ever saw say
one with 25,000 troops in line and think how
those serried ranks marched past hour after hour
until your eye grew tired of watching them.
Then multiply that parade by ten, and imagine
what an enormous army 250,000 persons would
make. That is exactly the size of the army, re
cruited anew every year, that this country forces
to fight typhoid fever,
Like any other army, this army, too, costs
money. In this case, though, the cost is (n the
form of economic loss. Statistics compiled by
the Connecticut Board of Health show that ty
phoid carries people oft in the years of their
greatest earning capacity, 41 per cent of the
deaths occurring to persons between the ages of
20 and 40, and 60 per cent to persons between 10
and 40.
The economic loss thus caused reaches a stag
gering total. The cost of the epidemic at Plym
outh, It Is shown by Professor Mason, amounted
to more than 115,000, divided as follows:
Lobs of wages of those who recovered... $30,020
Cost of caring for the sick... 67,000
Year's earnings of the dead 18,419
$115,539
In making this estimate, however, allowance,
was made for the loss of only one year's earn
ings. An examination of an Insurance mortality
table shows that the man who dies before he is
forty dies before his time. Hence his death
represents a loss, not of one year's income, but
of many. Five thousand dollars is the sum at
which a life is usually valued in reckoning eco
nomic loss. The typhoid loss is based only on
the number of those who die. As Mr. George
Whipple points out, there Is an added loss occa
sioned by non-fatal typhoid illnesses that should
also be taken into account The average period
of typhoid convalescence, as figured from 600
cases in a Pennsylvania hospital, Is 43 days.
Hence loss of wages plus cost of medical at
tendance would easily average $100 for every
person who recovers. If ten recover for one who
dies, then an extra $1,000 must be added to the
$5,000 allowed for each death, making the total
economic loss caused by every typhoid death
, $6,000.
Figured on this basis the loss to many com
munities amounts to, millions of dollars yearly
Take Pittsburg, where, as , we
have seen, the typhoid rate was
127 per 100,000 population. Pitts
burg is a city with a population
In excess of 350,000. Hence Its
annual death roll from typhoid
must have amounted to 3 times
127, " or something like 444. At
$6,000 a life, this death, roll will
cost Pittsburgh $2,664,000 a year,
or $26,640,000 every decade. And
the loss "to the entire country, fig
uring the typhoid deaths at 20,000,
reaches the astounding total of
$120,000,000 a year, or $1,200,000,
000 every decade.
This estimate, however, is with
out question too conservative.
Mr. Allen Hazen, an eminent
American engineer, says In his
book, "Clean Water and How to
Get It," that the reduction in the
number of deatns in five cities,
brought about through water puri
fication, amounted to 440. . Im
proved general aanitary condi
tions, he says, were responsible
for 137 of the 440 decrease. The
typhoid reduction amounted to
only 71. The reduction in the
number, of deaths from other
causes amounted to 232 three
times the typhoid reduction. If
this ratio of deaths due to water
holds good generally, then our ty
phoid deaths are only a small part
of the deaths due to bad water.
That three-quarters of the typhoid deaths are
due to water Mr. Hazen himself declares. That
three-quarters is referred to in the first para
graph of this article as the "fifteen thousand
needlessly slaughtered each year by polluted
water." Because, to quote Mr. Hazen, "three
quarters of the typhoid deaths could ' be pre
vented, and thereby could be stopped this need
less loss of vital capital that is going on year
after year."
The way to save that three-quarterB, then, Is
by being careful, which in this case means by
providing pure water. As Mr! Hazen puts it,
"By filtering all the water supplies of the Im
portant cities of the country, and by institut
ing other necessary sanitary reforms."
As proof of this let us see wnat has happened
to the death rate in those' localities that have
purified their water supplies. The typhoid rate
of Rensselaer for ten years averaged 61.9 per
100,000 population. In 1908, after the water was
filtered, it fell to 30. Hudson changed from
Hudson river water to a purer supply, and the
rate fell from 59.2 the ten-year average to
17.1. Poughkeepsie's rate used to average 112.
In 1907 the filtration plant was Improved, and
the rate fell to 34.5. In Albany the ten-year
average before filtration was 88.8. Since filtra
tion the ten-year average has been 22.2.
In Pennsylvania, Pittsburg had a . typhoid
rate, according to Health Director B. R. Wal
ters, that from 1901 to 1907 averaged 127. In
1907 the city spent $6,500,000 for a filter sys
tem. During the three years since, the typhoid
rate has been 31.9 a decrease of more than
75 per cent ,
. Chicago affords an even more striking exam
ple of the benefit of purifying the water supply.
In 1891 Chicago's typhoid rate was 173.8 per
100,000, the highest average typhoid rate in the
civilized world. Chicago purified its water by
building its wonderful drainage canal to keep
its sewage out of Lake Michigan. In 1908 Chi
cago's typhoid rate was 15.6 a reduction of 91
per cent.
Excellent as these achievements are, there is
a possibility of an even greater reduction in the
typhoid rate.
The methods of water purification are various.
Undoubtedly filtration comes first; but filtra
tion is not infallible.
Another method of purification is the use of
huge storage reservoirs., Water Is a poor me
dium for disease germs, and in it they die
quickly. To quote Mr. Whipple again: "The
typhoid bacillus does not multiply In ordinary
drinking water. On the contrary the cells die.
. . Ultimately all the cells die. The rate
varies greatly. In Borne experiments all died In
3 to 5 days. In others germs lived month.
In very cold water mortality Is moi rapid."
Hence if water can be impounded In large
reservoirs and held for a time, it tends to purify
iteslf. . ; ;. .
; Sewage disposal is fully as important as wa
ter purification that Is, for any purpose except
the saving of human life. If jroperty is at
stake it is indispensable.
The problem of clean water Is evidently not
a difficult one to solve. No nation has a finer
supply of water than we have.y
At the least you can guard the water that
comes into your house. See that you get fresh
water from the mains, and not water that has
Btood for hours in the lead or brass pipes with
in the house. House filters are plentiful, but
few of them are efficient. They are merely
strainers. Don't put ice In your water. It may
contaminate it Your great safeguard is is boil
ing your water; Particularly is this necessary
in the late winter, when typhoid epidemics so
often break out.
Didn't Get the Right Cue
r, .;.-'-.t ; .
Tom Keene's Experience With the
Local "Supe" Who Had Played
With McCullough.
(When Tom Keene took long tours
tnrough the northwest, where tragedy
ts still in favor, he used to keep his
company down in numbers on account
of the jumps ad the high ; railroad
fares, writes Drury Underwood. There
were various ways of doing this, such
as by doubling and by putting a tin
suit on the electrician now and then.
One play had a long cast, however,
and the advance agent was Instructed
to pick up some local man for one of
the "bits." Keene arrived In a one
night stand and made his way to the
theater to meet the recruit for" the
play in question. He Introduced him
self to the manager and explained the
situation.' The local dignitary said;
"That has been arranged, Mr. Keene.
Jones, the house property man, is
going to play the part. I'll send for
him." Jones appeared presently. He
yawned and stretched his arms con
tinually, putting two or' three gaps In
every sentence. The part consisted
of two lines, but on them hung the
vital 'situation of the play.:, Keene
sized Jones up for his wardrobe and
then asked him If he was ready to re
hearse." "No," said Jones, '1 played
the part "with McCullough twice." That
seemed promising and Keene was sat
isfied. The particular scene of the
performance came and Keene, look
ing Into the wings, saw Jones yawn
ing and stretching. He gave him the
speech for his entrance, but Jones did
not budge. He repeated It without
success and then r , had to fake the
pecene, which fell flat, ruining the per
formance. Keene came off the stage
in a fury. " "Why didn't you come on
when you saw me waiting there V
"Didn't get my cue," said Jones, "I
gave it to you twice." "Not the cue
McCullough gave me." "What cue did
he give you?"
sausage,"
"Come on, you Idaho
. : .' ' : It 8eemed 8o.
Geraldlne What is your business?
Gerald I am a gentleman. , ,; .
Geraldlne Are you on a leave of
absence just now?
On his knees In the mud under a
driving rain Robinson carefully exam
ined the overturned car. Lydia, his
coat wrapped round ber, sat on one
of the cushions under a tree and
wept 8he was unhurt but unnerved
from the result of the accident which
had occurred she knew entirely
through her own reckless driving. She
recalled Robinson's quietly uttered
warning Just before they had turned
that last corner where they had lost
the tire it was the only thing be had
said since she had interrupted his
stammering, somewhat abashed, dec
laration of love by an abrupt and
scornful, 'No!"
Robinson rose from bis knees and
came to her. "We'll leave the car
where It is," he saldr "and go on a
bit till we find a house. Come, can
you stand?"
He helped Lydia to her feet and
they trudged along the road half a
mile or more till they came to a small
white house, the only habitation in
Bight Half a dozen chickens huddled
on the back steps for protection
against the rain which still fell In
torrents. There was no bell and Rob
inson knocked in vain.
"There can't be any one at home,"
sobbed Lydia. "Oh, dear, what shall
we do?"
"Don't worry." '
In another moment he had found an
unfastened window, crawled m, and
opened the back door for Lydia. She
entered a cleanly whitewashed kitch
en with a stove, a dresser, and an
oil cloth covered table for Its princi
pal furniture.
Lydia smiled through her tears.
"Oh, I'm so glad to get somewhere
out of the rain," she said.
"Evidently no one's at home," said
Ilobinson, "and I came in the regula
tion way." He showed her the key
banging on a piece of string just out
side the door. "Now, take off that
wet coat," he ordered, "and make
yourself as comfortable as you can.
These good people won't object By
Jove, I've a mind to make you a cup
of tea while we wait I see there's a
: Experienced Advice.
"I guess I can cook up a story to ex
plain my doings to my wife."
Mf you do, it will result in a fam
ily stew."
Found an Unfastened Window.
fire in the stove." He helped Lydia
off with her coat "Hullo what's
this?" He had caught sight of a scrap
of paper on the corner of the dresser
and he brought It to Lydia.
"Johnny" the note ran "Ma has
sent for me to fetch Benny so you
look after Baby. Bee sure and don't
IfiflVa ttla ml.. lit- 1 .
sellar. Minnie." f
At this moment! Lydia and Robin
son heard a piercing wail from close
at hand.
"A baby!" cried Lydia, almost jump
ing out of her chair. "What a ghasuy
situation 1" '
"Poor little chap. I'll look him up!"
In a moment Robinson returned
with a yellow-haired, red-cheeked
baby about a year old and dumped
him down on Lydla's lap. "Isn't he a
jolly little fellow?" Robinson remark
ed. "I do like babies. I say, if you
don't mind, I'll take off my coat my
shoulders are getting chilly. Now, if
youH look after the infant, I'll see
what I can do about tea."
Lydia held the baby as if he had
been a hot potato, although she was
trying her best to act as if she knew
what to do with him. But this fright
ened looking girl With arms like
sticks did not suit the little chap at
all, and he set up a loud yell, Lydia
could not do thing with him, and
when Robinson had silently observed
this, he took the child out of her
arms, set him on the floor, and taking
out his handkerchief, with three knots
and a twist made him a beautiful rab
bit which hopped. ,
The baby stopped crying and gur
gled with Joy. As Lydia watched Rob-'
inson In his shirt sleeves In the home
ly kitchen playing with the fat red
cheeked baby, she hardly knew himi
for the same ultra-fastidious English
man she bad danced cotillions with,
snubbed, teased, almost considered a:
coward because he -had disapproved'
of a girl running her own car. All ab'
once It came to Lydia that he was
made of better stuff than she was.
Robinson, with the baby balanced
on his shoulder, was filling the kettle
and setting it on to. boll. "111 retch
up the milk from 'down sellar,'" Bald
he, "but first I'll step out to the barn.
You watch him till I come back,
please."
Left to herself, Lydia had the bril
liant thought of setting the table. By
the time she had collected cups, sau
cers, plates and a bowl for the baby
Robinson returned bearing cold ham,
butter, and a pitcher of milk. ,
"The table's ready," she said gaily.;
"Where's the baby?" asked Robin
son. He Was eons. After an anxious
search Robinson found him in t.h sit
ting room wood box and carried him.
back to his high chair at the kitchen
table, while Lvdia. much ashamed of
herself, made the tea.
There's a rood hnrsa In thn r ta
ble," said Robinson as they sat down,'
"and one of those er buggies. But
of course we can't leave this poor llfc
tie chap here alone, and we can't take
him with us."
"Good' heavens, no," said Lydia.
"Will you take sugar in your tea?;
What do you suppose these people'
will think when they get back and.
find us making ourselves at home?"
"Oh, you leave that to me," said;
Robinson easily. "I'll explain." Ho.
broke a piece of bread Into the baby's
bowl of milk and sprinkled sugar over
it "By Jove," said he, "we are rath
er snug here, aren't we?"
He beamed cheerfully upon Lydia
who in her heart agreed.
The comfort of the simple meal was
not spoiled by the coarse china, tne
oilcloth, or the presence of the ri
diculous baby spilling milk all over
his bib. There they sat in the cozy
kitchen like one family and the face ; '
she bent low over her place went
scarlet at the thought Coupled with
the lateness of the hour and their rong
distance from home the situation was
becoming embarrassing, and vet and
yet she was enjoying it!
You don't know how pretty you
look with your hair like that!" said'
Robinson suddenly. He drew his chair
closer to Lydla's, - but his tender
speeches, If he had intended ,to make
any, were destined to be interrupted
for the second time that dav. A hnv'n
head was thrust through the window.
"Gee!" said the head. "Thnrfi'a
folks here, Minnie, 'n they've got baby
an they re eatln supper off'n our:
things!"
Minnie, a fmirtpn-VAar-nlri clrl hiia.
tied into the kitchen, with Johnny be
hind her. Exnlanatlnnn ensued. It.
developed that Johnny had been
swimminv
'An' babv would havA hAn a!L
alone if you folks hadn't come," said
Minnie, her maternal heart wrung at
the thought I don't know how to
thank you."
"By letting us borrow your horse
and buggy," said Robinson promptly.
Arrangements were soon made for
their departure. Before Lydia stepped
into the buggy she stooped and kissed
the baby's very dirty little face, then,
she .and Robinson shook hands with .
Minnie and Johnny, and drove oft to
ward the nearest railroad station.
"I'll never run a car again," said
Lydia mounrfully, as they passed the
wreck at the side of the road.
"Oh, yes, you will," said Robinson
cheerfully, his arm stealing around
her. There was a moment's silence.
"Lydia," stammered Robinson at last,
"could I may I ask you something
all over again?"
And this time he was not Interrupted.
; Wasted Sarcasm.
After a week In the country a promi
nent lawyer returned to town, deter
mined to stay during the summer. But
before coming home he had the satis
faction of telling the keeper of the
"real old country boarding farmhouse"
just what he thought of things. "There
is one thing on your table," said the
lawyer, "which is not to be excelled
by the best hotels of New York or
Philadelphia.' "What Is it?" asked the
farmer. "The salt," answered the at
torney,, with a fine display of biting
sarcasm. "Well, I'm glad ye liked it"
returned the farmer. "It's the best
Jlmsons' keep, an' I ain't pertlckler
about the price." , .
SEEN ON A COUNTRY ROAD
Pleasing Proofs That If You Stray
Outside the City You Find Real
Friendliness.
Now it is an age of hustle, of forget
fulness, of selfishness everybody Is
too busy, with his own self centered
ideas to think of any one else. Per
haps so far you who see only , the
pavements, the office buildings, the
sun-swept streets,' and nolse-fllled en
virons of down town. But stray away
once, and perhaps there'll come a new
view of life. . '
Two men strayed out upon the Ray
town road the other day. It was dusty.
It was hot; the sun blazed as strong
as though thrown through a giant mag
nifier. . Suddenly, from behind, there
came a rush -ind a puffing. : A motor
rushed past and stopped.
"Heyl" called the owner, "Jump in:
the back seat's empty!"
The two men did so, and began to
observe. : A half mile further down
the road a spring wagon was wob
bling along with rickety uncertainty.
Then the driver leaned forward as if
trying to jockey the horse Into a
trot The quarry was Just ahead a
man, his wife, and four children, all
walking. The rickety conveyance over
took them and stopped. The woman
smiled and climbed up on the seat,,
while the husband stowed the children
in various parts of the wobbly little
wagon. However, there arose a dltfl
culty. The load was too heavy for the
horse. "-: '-i'.
"I'll get oft," said the husband, hand
ing the smallest child to his wife.
"You'll do nothing of the kind." the
driver answered hurriedly. "I'm tired
of riding, anyhow."
And so it was all along the road.
Everybody said "hello" to everybody
else when they passed There wtts al
ways a smile and a bow of the head,
and perhaps a hazard on the weather.
And yet from one of the hilltops the
towering buildings of down town
were in plain Bight Kansas City
8tar. . ;