Manchester Democrat. [volume], October 11, 1899, Image 6

About Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930

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Cl)c jBcmocrat,
BBOHSOB ft CAKR, Publishers
MANCHESTER, IOWA.
A woman likes to visit the bargain
counters and tlien count 'or bargains.
The old empress dowager lias sup
pressed all tlic newspapers In Clilnn.
France isn't the worst, after nil.
Mark Twain says lie lias respect for
Satan because lie is the spiritual head
of about four-fifths of the race.
Not only Is the sparrow plucky In
life, but Its acting as a substitute for
the reed bird shows it's also game aft
er death.
With respect to England spreading
herself in South Africa, It would seem
the Boers are disposed to be rabid anti
expansionists. .V
Probably one of the "extenuating
circumstances" In Capt. Drefus' case
was that the judges had a strong sus
picion he was innocent
In a Western city the other day a
farmer was robbed -three times by
gangs of footpads. Can it be there
also a highwayman trust?
Whales' teeth, it is stated, are the
coinage of the Fiji Islands. Very like
ly there, as elsewhere, the wives say
getting money from their husbands Is
like pulling teeth.
Emperor William says kingship Is
the only sure support for the preserva
tion of religion. The Kaiser talks very
much like a mnn who suspects that he
Is In danger of losing ills job.
Two heads may be better than one
ns a rule, but minor statesmen can't be
made to see that knocking one of them
in Is not the proper thing when It
comes to new candidate's barrel.
An association has been formed for
the purpose of compelling employers
to pay women the same wages that
are paid to men for similar work.
There are no women In the associa
tion.
A New England man is suing to re
cover $30# damages for the alienation
of his wife's affections. If the court
has any sense of the fitness of things
it will make him pay the other fellow
for winning her away.
It seems that the word "appendici
tis" Is not to be found In the most
ambitious of recent dictionaries pub
lished in England. It looks from this
as If the complaint In question were
more or less confined to themselves.
1
Poor Lo, the noble red man, has been
civilized at last, and dawn Is breaking
for the Indian. Fifty Osage savages
in Oklahoma have filed petitions in
voluntary bankruptcy. The next step
will be to elope with the funds of a
savings bank.
It Is doubtless an Indiscretion for a
public mnn to say privately what
would cause trouble if spoken openly.
But the man who gi'res to the world
what has been said to him in private
confidence commits something more
than an Indiscretion, and little less
khan a crime.
There Is such a thing ns getting on
the right side of a tornado, the right
side being the north side. The rule
drafted by meteorologists is to face
the approaching cloud and then flee to
the right. Take refuge in a cellar or
cave, throw yourself on the ground
and cilng to a stake or stump. This
is the surest means of escaping or sur
viving what as yet no human power
can mitigate or prevent
Great Improvement In public roads is
sure to attend and follow the multipli
cation of automobiles. One writer pre
dicts that "before the end of 1901), tlie
'total mileage of macadam and asphalt
will be Increased by fully 100 per ceut."
More than $300,000,000 is said to be
pledged already to the manufacture of
this class of vehicles. Till the storage
battery Is perfected and cheapened, the
means of propulsion are practically
limited to gas engines and petroleum
products.
The Jains of India agree with the
Buddhists In disallowing those Brah
manlcal ceremonies which Involve the
destruction of life. Being rigid veg
etarians, they take extreme pains not
to Injure any living creature. They may
drive a snake out of the house, but they
spare Its life. A rajah or prince of this
persuasion Bays: "We endeavor to
avoid even green vegetables, under the
Idea that cutting the plant may hurt It.
We would not needlessly pluck a leaf
from a tree, lest the tree should possi
bly feel pain."- Similar was the super
stition of a kindergartner, who taught
the children that when It was neces
sary to pull up garden weeds, they
should be carefully replanted in some
other place!
According to Chambers' Journal M.
Jaubert has solved the problem how
to provide a person placed in a con
fined space with the practical means
of preparing a resplrable artificial air
necessary for life. The chemical sub
stance which he has discovered will
purify the vitiated air of its carbonic
add, Its watery vapor, and all the
other Impurities of exhalation, and will
also restore to him in exchange Just
the quantity of oxygen he requires.
Experiments by the French Admiralty
».ave confirmed his assertions. Six to
eight pounds of the new chemical will
Insure life to an adult for twenty-four
hours in a diving bell or submarine
boat
The homely but expressive maxim
of the sporting gent that a sucker is
born every minute" daily receives ex
emplification, together with the corol
lary fact that a large percentage of
the "suckers" attain maturity and ac
quire money out of which they may be
swindled. On no other theory.can we
explain the survival of the "Spanish
priest" swindle, which has been work
ed for many years and yet other years,
despite the fact that It has been ex
posed In the newspapers times with
out dumber. It continues to bob up.
and doubtless will contiuue to sepa
rate fools from their money for years
to come. Everybody should know of
it yet if there be any reader who does
not let us advise him to beware of
letters purporting to come from a
Spanish priest, telling of great treas
ures to be found at such and such a
place provided a small sum of money
be advanced for necessary expenses.
If he yield to the promptings of ava
rice he will never see the color of his
money again. Like the ghinko tree,
the Spanish priest and ills burled treas
ure are non-existent. They belong to
toa green goods And gold brick order
of architecture. Tfte downy bird will
none of them.
A curious instance of the westward
drift of the country's population ap
pears In the latest report of the Pen
sion bureau. The official reports of
the War Department for 18C1-'G5 show
that New York led In the number or
troops furnshod I ennsylvania came
second, anu Ohio third. The quotas of
the respective States in the order
named were 407.047, 300,107, and 319,
059 men. On the pension list this or
der is exnetly rcvcDscd. Ohio has the
most pensioners, Pennsylvania stands
next, and New York is third. There
arc 105,527 pensioners in Ohio, draw
ing $1.15,450,000 104.G81 in Pennsylva
nia, drawing $12,470,795 and 87,527 In
New York, drawing $12,003,854. Illi
nois stood fourth In the number of
soldiers furnished, and It also stands
fourth in the number of pensioners,
though Indiana Is fourth in the amount
received for pensions. These changes
may be traced entirely to natural and
legitimate causes. It Is nothing against
Ohio that It leads in the number of Its
pensioners. If It has usurped the place
that apparently belonged to New York
It is because there has beeu a steady
drift westward of population since the
war, and enough of the voternns or
soldiers' widows have moved from
New York and Pennsylvania Into Ohio
to cause the change. The westward
movement of the veterans explains
why Kansas has now twice ns many
pensioners as it furnished soldiers.
From a published statement It ap
pears that In eight Chicago high schools
the number of pupils entered at the be
ginning of tills school year was 5,590,
of whom 1,493 were boys and 4,097
were girls—2,004 more girls thau boys,
or only four boys to every eleven gills.
The Chicago Chronicle goes on to say
that it may be stated as a partial com
pensation for tills excess of girls that
the attendance of the English high and
manual training school was 530 boys
and young men and no girls. But re
garding the manual training as equiva
lent to the high school, we st111 have an
excess of 2,094 girls, or more than twice
as many girls as boys. This fact sug
gests the queslion whether the girls are
net being educated away from the
boys, so to speak, to a serious extent.
The boys are taken from school at an
earlier age than the girls and, It is to be
presumed, set to jvork lu #.cupatlons
not requiring Instruction in the high
school branches. Is It well that so
many of their sisters receive so much
more schooling? Do not the latter ac
quire tastes and ambitious and Ideas
of life untittlng them for the relation of
marriage with the less cultivated young
men? This Is not a question which can
be answered positively without much
more information than Is conveyed by
the school statistics alone. It may be
that many more of the boys thau of the
girls pursue special studies after leav
ing school to qualify them for the work
in life which they uudertake. If so,
these special studies may compensate
for those pursued In tlie schools by the
girls and not by the boys. There Is
some reason to think, however, that
whatever compensation of this kind
there may bo It Is nat effective In bring
ing about congenial relations between
the sexes later In life. It seems to be
the fact that celibacy Is on the Increase
that the proportion of old bachelors auil
old nia!ds to the total population Is
higher than formerly. And if it is the
fact we may reasonably look for one
cause of it in the unequal education of
the sexes In the public schools and the
consequent separation of those who
might otherwise be happily mated. If
such Is the case there Is no obvious
remedy. The present course In the mat
ter of education, Is largely a matter of
parental choice, and liberty in this re
s.iect cannot be restricted. It is a mat
ter for individual study and not for
State regulation.
®KJ
fffiHItt
The Scriptural suggestion, "Hide uot
your light under a bushel," Is most per
tinent to-day as advice to the business
mnn.' If a man has a good thing—an
a:-.:cle of cemmerce needed by the peo
ple—and it is something which he de
sires to dispose of, if he is a business
man—a progressive one—his first idea is
to advertise it. He may advertise it
with a placard placed upon it in the
window. The passer-by sees it and it
is advertised. He may pulnt a dozen
board signs and place them about the
thoroughfares. Likewise that is adver
tilsiig, but on a more extensive scale.
But if he is a thoroughly progressive
man he will take the surest, the cheap
est and most satisfactory way of tell
ing the people about this article and its
"HAULING DOWN THE FLAG."
Republican politicians who are
"crooking the pregnant hinges of the
knee that thrift may follow fawning"
are loud in their protests that the
American flag once run up must never
be hauled down. This appeal to the
bias of patriotism is made to excuse
the war in the Philippines.
But not ail Republicans are so bound
to the imperial throne of Emperor Mc
Klnley as to approve an unjust war
simply because the President is moved
by an unworthy ambition. Former
Senator Henderson of Missouri Is an
able Republican, but he has ideas of
his own concerning "hauling down the
flag." "I don't believe," says the for
mer Senator, "that you can drive a
people to fall in love with anything or
that you can shoot American patriot
ism into anybody. When the Ameri
can flag ceases to be the emblem of lib
erty let it be hauled down. I know of
but one flag, and that is the one which
proudly floats 'o'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave.' It will
never float gracefully over a land of
slaves."
But, worse thau this, the flag in Sulu
guarantees not only slavery, but polyg
amy as well. In further discussing this
question, Henderson says: "I. would
now negotiate with the Filipinos to
take Manila as a naval station and
then help them to establish a republic
of their own, the United States agree
ing to aid them in the good work and*
to protect them from auy threatened
interefrence with their free institu
tions, they to return to us the $20,000,-
dMlrabliuy'"by" putting'"
sign—an"ad- interested in gun
vertlsement—in the newspaper. The
present decade has revolutionized the
Her 8elf-Den a*.
Arthur—Miss Sweetster came mlehtv
near accepting me last night.
Harry—That so?
Arthur—I asked her if she cared
enough to marry me, and she said yes
inijeed, hut there were times when she
ought to practice self-denial.—Boston
Transcript.
We "have noticed, by reading obituary
notices, that iu very small towns, the
men carry very little life Insurance,
and seem to have given their heart* to
God wfcea. very young.
'vWd'
I
to"1,,1rlps-
"Has it been a dood little Willie will Ie Uncle Mark was
World.
000 which Spain received from' us on a
defective title."
This proposition coming from a Re
publican is given here for what it is
worth. It simply illustrates that Mark
Hanna Is much mistaken when he as
•erts that there is no political issue in
the Philippine question. Not only Is
there a political Issue In this question,
but there Is also a cause for differences
of opinion among leading Republicans,
Nobody wants to dishonor the flag, but
no one dishonors it more than be who
would make it a protector of slavery
and savagery.—Chicago Democrat.
Hanna an 'initator.
After all Mr. Hanna has no particu
lar cause to be abashed at the story
that he solicitously inquired how much
a vote was worth in the House of Com
mons. For 6ven If Mr. Haunn did ask
the question—and he declares he didn't
—he does not suffer In comparison with
the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain,
who, though Minister for the Colonies,
admits that he owns stock In tlie Niger
company, a concern which Js trying to
sell out to the Imperial government.
The British ministry, Indeed, are a par
ticularly tlilck-sklnned crowd In mat
ters of this kind. It is not very long
since Sir Michael Hicks-Beach—"Mick
ey the Botch"—admitted that most of
ahinvnr,,B
tho/ifTr cr. iix. lucr BiMci-uiueiu, uuu ueieiiuea rne pro-
srss rr.«~ sarrjws
who would become customers, do not
realize that they are in want of the
article until they read the advertise
ment and are reminded of that need.
Consequently the supply and the pub
licity an article gets, regulates the de
mand. The modern adaptation of the
oft-quoted passage iu Scripture might
well be "Advertise."
Chinese Parental Authority.
A remarkable event has occurred at
Tslng-kiang-pu. A niau by the name
of King had a son who made his father
and mother "lose face" because of the
wild, rakish life lie led. He gambled,
loafed, smoked opium, etc. If he stole,
his father would be taken to the ja
men and the whole family would suf
fer for the son's villainy, and the vital
question was, How could the family be
protected? At last they arrived at the
conclusion that the only way to protect
the father and mother was to take ex
treme measures with the son, which
they did with p. vengeance. The fa
ther and uncle took him out among
the graves, followed by a curious
crowd of neighbors and friends, and,
putting a rope around his ueck, each
relative pulled on the end, and the son
was put beyond ruining the family in
this world.—North China Herald.
"n'1
r"hB"
foundries, shipyards and other enter
prises which have large dealings with
the government, and defended the pro-
the cares of state In looking after their
business Interests! All of which goes
to show that politicians are very much
alike on both sides of the water, and
that Mr. Hanna, though lie may be
somewhat more direct In Ills methods,
Is not, after all, much worse than his
esteemed contemporaries of Downing
street and Westminster. Chicago
Chronicle.
lnljr One Chapter.
it is a mistake to tliiuk that the so
lution of tlie problem of the Philip
pines Involves nothing but the defeat
of Agulualdo and Ills army. The ar
rest of the native mayors of two cities
within our lines—who had beeu elected
in accordance with our policy of con
ciliation—the one for spying and the
other for maintaining an insurgent re
cruiting office, serves to show that the
native population is practically unani
mous iu its sympathy with the rebel
lion. After we shall have wliippe'il
Aguiiinldo we shall probably bo
obliged to subdue In detail every village
lu the group.—Philadelphia Record.
What Is it "Koreiicn ievoil?"
"The anti-Imperialists have ucliie\ed
the unenviable distinction of having
prolonged a foreign revolt against the
flag ol' their country," says tlie New
York Mail and Express. Now, what
inost people would like to huitw Ik how
there can be a "foreign revolt"'against
tlie flag of the United States.
Filipinos are American subjects tlie.v
are lu revolt against the flag under
which they are, or should be, living.
If they are not American subjects then
they cannot revolt against the Hag of
another eotiutry.—Butte Miner.
.liny fate Hill Lcuii.
The Democrats of Ohio, Nebraska,
Kentucky and several other States
have already demanded the renomina
tion of William J. Bryan in party plat
forms. but old Massachusetts,will piob-
'"-"i is?
ably be the first commonwealth to elect
a delegation pledged to support him In
the next national convention. The pro
posal to elect delegates this fall ap
pears to be favorably regarded by the
Bay State Democracy, and that they
will be Instructed in the Nebraskan's
favor there is uot the slightest doubt.
—Concord People and Patriot.
A Hot Timo in Ohio.
There is going to be a hot time in
McKluley's own State of Ohio during
the next six weeks. A Republican
majority must be secured there on the
7th of November or the second term
syndicate's plans will go to smash,
and with them Ilannism, Algerism,
Imperialism, Militarism and Trustism.
Theodore Roosevelt has been called
upon to help and he lias thrown him
self into the fray in his usual reckless
way. The Administration is evident
ly frightened by the outlook.
Roosevelt's speech at Akron was a
most virulent attack on the Democratic
party, on William J. Bryan and on
everyboay who will not stand for the
policy of loot for the trusts and syn
dicates and offices for the Incompe
tents and scamps. He disdained ar
gument altogether and confined him
self 10 slangwhanging of the most pro
nounced Billingsgate sort—those who
oppose McKinley's policy are traitors
who ought to be shot or tied to the tail
of a wild horse.
What effect this sort of talk will have
on the Ohio farmers to whom it was
addressed is a problem. They are an
independent, open-minded, reasoning
class of men as a rule, and they may
conclude that it must be a weak cause
which has to call to its aid abuse of
this sort Perhaps they have "had
enough of this swash-buckling and will
decide for the good, old-fashioned form
of settling political disputes by means
of argument rather thau by roaring.
Ohio was carried by McICInley three
years ago by a plurality of over 47,000
in a total vote of more than a million.
The Republican candidate for Govern
or this year is unpopular with a large
section of his party, Poraker's follow
ers Included, and the latter's cham
pionship of the cause of the trusts may
have been decided on for the purpose
of defeating the ticket and adminis
tering to both the President and Hanna
a lesson.—New York News.
Why Pl .y Wnititur G*ime
The administration la adapting all its
surroundings to the work of renomina
ting William McKlnley to the Presi
dency. Even Congress Is expected to
do nothing but that which the admin
istration especially calls for. The war
Willi Spain was regularly declared by
Congress, but the war with the people
of the Philippine Islands was inaug
urated and has been conducted by the
executive department of the govern
ment. The program was for the army
to have ilio Philippine Islands paelfled
and ready for tin- attention of Congrats
by the lirst Mouday of December next.
Indeed, there was a good deal of talk
about the probable necessity for an ex
traordinary session, so that (lie peace
ful condition in tlie Orient would not
have to wait for necessary legislation.
It scorns plain now that when Con
gress meets in regular session It will
be told to keep its hands off for some
time long™- that the President Is not
ready for It that (lie lighting is not
over. Meantime, no policy is proclaimed
from Washington. The people nnd Con
groi-s are simply treated to some rhet
oric about the flag and told to wait
longer for facts anil plans. Why should
Congress fold Its hands? Why should
it not assert Itself? It"Is the legislative
duty to take a hand.—Cincinnati En
quirer.
Sot Wcltll, hut It* Abtltc
The mere possession of great alth
by an individual is 110 longer a matter
of apprehension. An illegal combina
tion to monopolize the ptoductlon or
distribution of tl'.e necessaries of life
Is another matter. Au active and un
set upulous trust promoter or a corrupt
and corrupting plutocrat Iu politics la
a more serious menace to the welfare
of the country than all the Vnnder
lillts and Astors put together.—New
York World.
It was a very pretty compliment that
Lord Kitchener paid in American gen
ius and enterprise, relative to the quick
construction of a bridge ill the heart
If the °r Africa, after Englishmen had fail
ed. And how regrettable Hint we do
not push opportunities for such tri
umphs in other remote fields, instead
of horrifying the civilized world with
exhibitions of human slaughter.—Loa
Augeles Herald.
S
'it
foam •mL
Why Crvverit Incur.'tMett?
If the Filipinos are incapable of self
government, the sooner we unload
them the better. Such people do not
make good Americans.—Toledo Com
mercial.
FIREMEN IN THE '40S.
THE CHICAGO. FORCE IN OLD
VOLUNTEER DAYS.
First of the Hand tnelne, Parade
oa the Public Square in the Fall of
the Year 1844-Odd Sights in the
Pioneer Times.
Chicago had a fire lighting forcc as
early as 1835, but the equipment con
sisted solely of leathern buckets, In
which water was passed by lines of
men formed for tills purpose, in case
of tire the lighters would range them
selves 111 line, with one end at the near
est well or cistern and the* other at
the burning building. Along this row
the buckets of water would be handed
and dashed on the flames. It was uot
until 1844 that William B. Ogden had
succeeded in working the people up to
the point of buying an engine, and
even then there was strong protest
against it, the assertion being made
by Mr. Ogden's opponents that It was
a piece of wild and useless extrava
gance. Despite this the engine was
bought at a cost of S&IO. It was a
goose neck, piano box machine, work
ed by man power by means of long
"brakes" at the sides. These brakes
were connected with the pump, and
when forced up and down by forty
tl.eSrc™eandaBapUKthi!^e ^dle'wkg™^0'1
pairs of muscular anus the water wan
drawn rapidly into the box from the
cistern and thrown with great force
through the hose. Strife between the
various companies for the honor" of
throwing the highest stream was ever
rife, and tlie brakes of tlic engines
would be worked with a violence that
threatened to wreck the machinery. It
was with an engine of this kind tliat
the Chicago Red Jackets made tour
of the East in 1852 and won the cham
pionship. Tlie height of every young
man's ambition In the period between
1844 and 1858 was to run with an en
gine. Hose carts and trucks were
good enough in their way, but the real
aristocracy of lire department work
was only to be found In the engine
houses. Manning the brakes gave full
opportunity for a display of muscular
vigor, and victory In pifttlng a stream
of water higher than any of their com
petitors brought to the engine company
members a. glory to be obtained in no
other way.
llepnrtmciit l*arnde iil l844.
It wns to celebrate tlie arrival of
one of these old-faslitoned engines, the
first real fire lighting machine to be
used in Cliicngo, that the department
was called out for parade and Inspec
tion in 1844. Nobody seems to remem
ber the exact date, but the review prob
ably took place some time early iu the
fall. The department then consisted
of three companies. One of these was
the Fire King, No. 1, to which was
assigned the custody and use of the
new engine. Metamora No. 2 wns by
courtesy called au engine company, but
It had no machine until after 1844, Its
work at tires being confined to the
handling of buckets and the saving of
property. Tlie third organization in
the department was a Are guard and
bucket brigade. Stephen F. Gale, now
hale and lively at the advanced age of
S3 years, was tlie chief engineer. It
was largely through Ills efforts that the
discipline and effectiveness of the force
were brought to a point of high excel
lence. and many of the Improvements
which afterwards marked the work
of the department were Inaugurated.
Mr. Gale was a man of energy and a
strict disciplinarian. He took com
mand of the department In the spring
of 1844 and held the position for three
years, resigning In 1841 on account of
IU health, it being then the opinion of
his doctors that lie was In a precarious
condition. Mr. Gale Is now. half a
century after that time, apparently ns
strong nnd vigorous ns any ordinary
man of 10. He and A. H. Burley and
C. E. Peck are supposed to be the only
men now living who parjlclpated in the
first parade of the Chicago Are depart
ment In 1844, and all three of them are
remarkably well preserved. Mr. Peck'
was then a private in the Fire Kings
and Mr. Burley was a member of the
Chicago Fire Guards, more popularly
known ns the "Forty Thieves," it be
ing the custom then to apply the sobri
quet In a good-natured way because
the efforts of the guard were solely di
rected to the saving of portable prop
erty.
^ccne on Courthouse Pquttrc.
This parade was held on the court
house square, tlie site of the present
city and county building. It was then
vacant lot. and, while In the heart of
the young city, was Inclosed with a
rough slab feuce like a piece of pas
ture land. Washlngtou street, on the
south, and La Salle street, on the west,
both of which are shown In the picture,
were muddy, unpavct highways, prom
inent only because of the churches lo
cated on them. The Unlversallst
Church stood on Washington street
about where the Chamber of Com
merce building now stands, and the
Baptists had a house of worship on the
west side of lift Salle street. Just north
of Washlngtou. In those days the
court house square was a favorite spot
for open-air shows and displays, as it
was within handy reach and yet for
enough removed from the business part
of the city to prevent Interference with
the trade nnd commerce of the town.
It wan In this lot that Chief Engineer
Gala maribaied hli flrisw is 1814
and paraded before the admiring popu
lace that wonderful addition to his
fire-fighting force—a piano box engine.
The department marched around the
lot, dragging the engine behind it, and
then halted at the south end, where the
machine was given a conspicuous place
and the firemen drawn up In line
around It while the chief and his as
sistants received the congratulations of
the citizens on the visible evidence of
Chicago's coming greatness. Most of
the population got Inside of the fence
and mingled In a free and easy manner
with the firemen, but some of the kick
ers—the men who thought the pur
chase of a Are engine at a cost of $850
a bit of wicked extravagance—remain
ed on the outside and passed uncom
plimentary rcninrks about the outfit.
In taking his picture of tlie parade by
the old daguerrotype process the artist
set lils camera on Clark street, and
this brought Into the foreground the
men who were hanging on the outside
of the fence on lhat thoroughfare, mak
ing their flaring coat skirts and oddly
shaped high lints the most conspicu
ous feature of the scene.
Iu the '40s the best men in Chicago
were identified with the fire force,
I.awyers, doctors, editors and business
men did not think It beneath their dlg
uity to run with the machine—in fact,
active service as a volunteer fireman
brought rewards In the way of polit
ical and social preferment, to which
even those lu the highest ranks of pro
fessional and commercial life were sns-
CHICAGO'S FIRST FIRE) DEPARTMENT PARADE, SEPTEMBER 1844
8ite the and COnntT
ceptlble. One of the most cherished
privileges wns that of appearing on
parade in the red flannel shirt and
leathern hat, which, with a pair of
black doeskin trousers, with the lower
extremities stuffed Into the tops of
long-legged boots, constituted the full
dress uniform. It was these- things,
simple as they may. now seem, that
gave enchantment to the fireman's life
and drew Into the ranks, the'best men
in town. The actual fire service was
not particular!? arduous. While the
city was built almost entirely of frame
structures, fires were neither numer
ous nor extensive, owing to the strin
gent precautions taken to prevent their
origin. When the department was
STIil'lIKN F. GALE,
(Chfcaso'a Oldest Fire Chief).
called out the disagreeable features of
the work were more than compensated
for when those who bad been most ac
tive iu fighting the flames were singled
out as members of the floor and recep
tion committees at the next dance.
Such was a fireman's life in Chicago In
1844.
Modern Solomon's Judgment.
The Greek ecclesiastical authorities
at Aleppo have been called upon to de
cide a case which strongly recalls Sol
omon's famous judgment By a
strange coincidence a woman nnd her
daughter both gave birth to a female
child at the same time. But the ba
bies got mixed, and, as one of them
wns ugly and the other pretty and
healthy, both mothers claimed the lat
ter. The elder woman maintained
that, as all ber other children were
handsome, the ugly child could not be
iters, while the daughter claimed that,
being young, handsome and strong,
she could not be the mother of a weak
and ugly babe. J'he religious chief of
the town settled the affair In a sum
mary way. He adjudged the beauti
ful child to the daughter on the ground
that. It being her first, the occasion
was not to be made one of humiliation
and disappointment, while the elder
mother could afford to forego her
claim, since che had already had sev
eral handsome children. Maiumat
(Constantinople).
GET TIPS FROM CROOKS.
Bank 'fHcia!a Tnke Means to Protect
'J heir Treasure from Thieves.
It is said by a police official at City
Hall headquarters that some of the
city banks, whose hoard of surpiuB
cash has been Increasing largely of
late, have been experimenting with an
expedient long in use by Bank of Eng
land officials of paying known crooks
for Information of any contemplated
raid upon their vaults. The Bank of
England's first experiment of this kind
dates from 1850, when the directors of
the bank listened to a startling proposi
tion made by a "ditch digger."
The laborer told the directors that he
had discovered a new and unsuspected
method of getting Into the cellar vaults,
where the gold and silver bars were
kept, and that he would sell bis secret
to theni for money. The directors hesi
tated, believing that they bad taken
•very precaution agalsct
Iom
trom th*
,,, TW~. -wlp^-~-—^,.1.i...^wjV-"'-----wvet*
vftults hi putting up heavy maaodfy,
with plenty of iron bars, and by man
ning the building with armed watch
men. But finally they granted the man,
who seemed to talk fairly, a Chance to
try his plan, and a night was named
for the undertaking.
At the appointed time a committee
of the directors descended to the cellar
and heard a peculiar scratching sound
under their feet. Two faouTB later the
floor opened and the ditch digger bob
bed up serenely, llfte the evil spirtta in
the spectacular drama. All around them
lay bars of precious metal, totaling In
value £8,000,000. Tlie man explained
satisfactorily how it was done, and aa
a reward the directors assured him an
Income for life on an Investment of
$10,000. The crook was content, and
It Is believed he remained honest ever
afterward.
But other cracksmen were temptef
by his Inck to try the same game, and
the directors were Inundated with sug
gestions and tips on new method* of
burglary and how to prevent them.
Among other things, they paid $20,000
for a process, invented by a young
chemist, for copying the Ink, paper,
watermarks and designs of the bank
notes so perfectly as to defy detection.
The directors found they could uae his
system more satisfactorily and more
profitably than their own in the produce
tlon of their currency.
Despite the fact that these expendi
ture* have ton up Into big figurs* ia
^""ng-Dniver^llst Church on
the last half century, the dlrectora of
to-day say that all the money was well
invested.—Chicago Chronicle.
Rhyme of ttis Tired Farmer.
A farmer was trying to plough
With a jackass hitched up to a cough,
When they kicked up a terrible rough.
Said the farmer, "It's hard I allough
I could do near as well with a sough
I will rest 'neath the shade of this bough.
"Such driving for me is too rough,
I've had of it nearly enough.
I'll give thlB old jackass a cough
And quit, for I'm quite In a bough, ft
All farming is nonsense and stough
Anl ploughing Is almighty tough.
"With farming I'm glad to be through—
My wife, she Is tired of it, tough.
We're wet with the rain and the dough
And ploughing has mad* me quite
blough.
"I'll sell out and pocket the dough.
To the city I'll glad enough gough.
I'll through down "the shovel and hough.
In Wall street my money I'll blough.
"My wife has contracted a cough,
'Tis time for us both to be ough."
—New York Sun.
Sharp Tax Col'ector.
A young man of Ellsworth, Me,, al
lowed himself to be mesmerized by a
traveling hypnotist recently, and lay
for -.wenty-four hours asleep. In the
show window of one of the principal
stores In the city. For the service he
was to receive $10. While he alept
the city tax collector filed the necessa
ry legal claim for the $10, and the
sleeper awoke to find bis poll tax for
the past three years paid.
An Amiable Wife's Way.
"I have an infallible rule for the man
agement of a husband," Bays an amia
ble married woman. "If he comes
home at night very tired I keep every
thing quiet for him and have very lit
tle to say until after the soup course
at dinner. By the time that course Is
over the soup lias, as It always will do,
warmed the very cockles of a tired
man's heart, and he Is In a good mood
for anything and everything that may
follow."—New lork Times.
Will It Always Be This Way?
When three or four girls are discuss
ing their new gowns each girl except
the one who Is talking appears bored
and wearied to death. But as soon as
one gets the floor she's as lively as a
cricket and won't stop chattering until
the next girl shrieks louder and drowns
ber out.
A Boy's Query.
"You have only had half of the poo
dle clipped, mamma," said little Tom
my.
"Yes, Tommy."
Tommy thought a moment and ask
ed: "Is it so that the warm end of the
dog can eDjoy the. coolness of the other
end all the more?"—Detroit Free Press.
A Complicated Timepiece.
An East India man has built a house
clock which weighs nearly two tons
and has hundreds of moving figure*,
music boxes, chimes and other compli
cated machinery. The man spent sev
en years in constructing the time piece.
Natural Instincts.
There has never yet been discovered
a woman so strong minded that she
didn't long aud pray for a sealskin
eacque and a white satin sofa cush
ion.
Live Stoolc In Konua.
Kansas has two bead of caittle- one
hog, one-third of a horse, ana one-nrth
of a sheep for every man, woman and
child In the State.
Every man should have two wives
one to cook for him, and the other to
amuse him after be has eaten.
Don't engage in the pursuit of litera
ture unless you are a good sprinter.
Curiosity has a peculiar way ol gat.
tin$ tba battar of discretion
Bryan on Double Standard.
Some people say we never bad a
donble standard of bimetallism. If a
man says that, all we can say is,
"Give us what we had, nnd call it
what you please." Give us the lnw
that Andrew Jackson framed, the
free coinage of gold and silver at the
mint at the ratio of 10 to 1 without
waiting for the nld or cousent of any
nation. Give us this, and apply lo It
what name you will. We not only
have had the double standard, but we
hare had the gold standard, nnd this
without asking for it It came upon
us like a thief In the night When I
was young, I remember at the debat
ing societies we used to debate the
question whether there was not more .
pleasure in anticipation than in pos
session. I have always regretted that
we were not given the pleasure of an
ticipating the gold standard. The gold
standard coucealed its blessings, and
we had It for twenty-three years be-'
tore anybody found It out, and before
anybody daretl defend It After nine
teen years, all tbree parties asked for
bimetallism, and the Republican par
ty, which claims nil the Intelligence
and all the patriotism, met*at Mlmie-v.
apolis. McKinley was the chairman
of the committee on resolutions, aud a
platform was adopted, saying that the
American people, from tradition and
Interest favored bimetallism. What
has happened since the election? Pres-.
ident McKlnley sent a commission of
three learned men to Europe to ask
the European nations to help us to
get rid of the gold standard. I am
willing to give btm credit for nil that
he did. He had to admit thnt the gold
standard wns a bad tbing, and that we
ought to help him to get rid of It The
Republican Congress voted $100,000 to
pay the expenses of this commission,
and we ought to give the Republican
Congress credit for their willingness to
spend the people's money to get rid of
the gold standard. The commission
went to Europe, and France joined
with us In an effort to get rid of the
gold standard. Why did they do thlB?
Because the gold standard had been a
curse to the English laboring men, and
they knew it An agricultural com
mission reported, signed by two-thirds
of the commission, that the gold
standard had been the chief cause of
the agricultural depression in England.
Farmers, how can you believe that the
gold standard is good for yon In the
United States when the English farm
ers declared It bad for them in Eng
land, which is the home of the gold
standard? You tell me that England
did not Join with us to get rid of the
gold standard. That Europe did not
Join. Why? Because in September,
1807, some bankers met, few In num-.
bers, and with closed doors, and pledg
ing themselves to secrecy, adopted res
olutions declaring thnt the gold stand
ard was all right. These baukers con
trolled the English government and the
English government controlled Eu
rope, and Europe, through the English
government, controlled the policy of
the United States. You tell me that
the gold standard Is' good. No party
ever won an election dti it. You tell
me that the money question Is good.
No handful of English bankers can
ever settle a question for the Ameri
can people. They say we can't ,!•» the
same arguments now as in 189(1. There
Is a difference between a gold bug and
a silver man. In Ohio, in 1887, when
I went down there to make a speech,
they said "There comes Mr. Bryan,
singing the same song as in 1800."
The silver man could sing the same
song over and over again, and the
more be slugs it the more the people
Ilka It—W. J. Bryan, In his Des Moines
speech.
All 'orts.
Intellect Is the starlight of the brain.
-N. P. Willis.
A husband who pursues peace will
not try to run the house.
The proportion of sickness in human
Ufe is nine days out of the year.
Women are far more heroic than men
—as any shoe dealer will tell you.
There is only one sudden death
among women to eight among men.
The player who sweeps the board in
a game of chance always gets the dust
Iron mining gives employment to
more than 17,000 persons in England.
At least forty American lawyers are
endeavoring to earn a living hi Manila.
G. E. Buckle, editor of the London
Times, always has a big bunch of_roses
on his desk while he works.
It Is universally agreed that money
Is the source of much evil In the bands
of other people.
The original shamrock of Ireland has
long been extinct The plant called the
shamrock is the white clover.
Don't tell a friend that sh£ used' to
be a beautiful woman. Compliments
are best used in the present tense.
Whenever a girl giggles at every fool
remark a young man makes she Is will
ing to be more than a sister to him.
Women who marry the first man that
asks them presumably think it Is bet
ter to be mistaken than a miss not
taken.
Grasshoppers attain their greatest
size In South America, where they grow
to a length of five Inches and spread
out ten Inches.
The average number of horses killed
in Spanish bull lights every year ex
ceeds 5,000, while from 1,000 to 1,200
bulls are sacrificed.
The average weekly wages of the
men employed in the cotton mills of
Maine are $7.88, of the women $5,00,
and of the children $2.78.
Twelve years ago one sailor out of
e*ery 108, on an average, lost his life
by accident. Now the proportion has
been reduced to one in 250.
Paymasters and commissariat officials
of the German army receive special
training In examining the quality of
food supplied to the army.
Consul Macrum (Pretoria, Transvaal
Republic), writes that the average ex
ports of gold from the ports of South
Africa amount to about $2,002,595 each
week.
If we could sweep Intemperance out
of the country, there would be hardly
poverty enough left to give healthy ex
ercise to the charitable Impulses.—Phil
lips Brooks.
Duty Is a debt—something that we
owe to somebody else. There Isn't an
important duty lu life that needs to
wait for the solution of any man's
doubt. There lBn't a single duty that
needs to wait for the settlement of any
question. Do not allow yourselves,
then, to make excuses. Doubt that
which Is not proved believe that which
1* probable have faith in that whoss
put
iItm
a reason (or faith b* sol
aradalaw^rUiMt
3.
Iitiii
^1
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