The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], June 20, 1903, Page 4, Image 4

About The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950

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The Age-Herald
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THE AGE-HERALD.
Birmingham. Ala.
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ing. New York city; western business of
fice, Tribune Building, Chicago. The S.
C. Beckwith Special Agency, agents for
eign advertising.
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THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ALABAMA
That roars so loud and thunders In the
Index.
—Hamlet.
Lessons of the German Election.
Out of 161 members elected in the
German relchstag contests the social
democrats gained 58, and the centre or
Catholics filled 60. These are the two
Hading parties of the empire, and In
tue election of 1898 the centre had 102
members and the social democrats but
67, although the latter polled 2,107,100
votes, and the Catholics hut 1,455,110.
The country Is sadly gerrymandered
against the social democrats, and they
will have to poll nearly three million
votes In order to secure more seats
than the centre.
On Thursday next the second elec
tions will be held, when 169 seats will
be filled. All questions are sunk under
the one that relates to control by con
servatives or by socialists. The lesser
groups are largely swallowed up in
the struggle, especially the groups In
clining to conservatism, and the de
sire to combine for the purpose of de
feating the socialists predominates.
The keynote of the conservatives Is
found in the speech of the emperor at
the Krupp funeral, where ho said of
the socialists: "He who does not cut
himself off from these people will mor
ally bring a certain measure of guilt
upon his own head.” And Essen, where
the emperor spoke, Increased the so
cial democrat vote from 4400 In 1898
to 22,706 this year.
The social democrats find arrayed
against them the emperor, the official
and privileged classes and the church,
but this alliance does not discourage
them In the least. They are ably led,
and they have a definite programme,
which may be set down In these
Words:
One vote for every adult man and wo
man: a holiday to be election day; pay
ment of members (of the Imperial Diet
and state legislatures).
The government to be responsible to
parliament (at present the emperor can
dissolve parliament at will); local self
government; referendum.
Introduction of the militia system.
Freedom of speech and freedom of prces.
Equality of man and woman before the
law.
Disestablishment of the churches.
Undenominational schools, with com
pulsory attendance and gratuitous tuition.
Gratuitousness of legal proceeding.
Gratuitous medical attendance and
burials.
Progressive income tax and succession
duty.
Until Thursday’s elections are held
It will be impossible to state or even
to estimate with satisfaction the out
come. If the social democrats gain
under the present apportionment one
quarter of the seats ti "y will have to
oast over one-third of the votes, and
this they expect with the aid of the
German women to do. The activity of
the women in behalf of the socialists
Is the most remarkable feature of the
election, for women are proverbially
conservative, and largo numbers of
them are working for the social demo
crat candidates. Their conventions
are well attended, and their journals
are among the best in the country.
Saturday Half-Holiday.
The Saturday half-holiday Is fast be
coming a world-wide institution. In
England cotton factories are closed by
law at noon, and in other mills work
must cease early in the afternoon. In
France early closing on Saturday has
been recognized and enforced since
1899, and the Superior Labor Council
is considering the bringing in of an
act to render early closing on Satur
day compulsory. In Switzerland a
bill is pending in the federal council
providing that no work shall be done
after 5 o’clock on Saturdays.
In this country nearly every city has
adopted the practice, some extending
It to all stores, shops and mills, and
some limiting its application to partic
ular trades or industries. The ten
dency la towards a complete cessa
tion of work at noon on Saturday dur
ing hot weather at least, and this will
probably lead on to the closing of all
1 "
places of business and of industry at
12 o’clock of each Saturday.
The movement is one that every
humanitarian should support, and in
no country is it more needed than it
is in this, where nerve and muscle and
gray matter are exerted to the utmost.
We make no mistake in welcoming in
this country the new movement, and
if the good sense of the country is not
equal to its acceptance, then perhaps
the law should help common sense out.
In this town, beginning today, many
places of business will be closed at
noon, and it is to be hoped that the
list of such places will be largely in
creased before the heats of July and
August are upon us. The Julys and
Augusts of this latitude are not easily
borne, and it will pay any employer of
men who are shut up in store or office
or mill, to turn them loose at noon on
Saturdays. They would do more and
better work on the other secular days
of the week.
Under the Dick Bill.
The Dick bill providing for the bet
ter equipment of the national guards
is imperfectly understood. It really
makes no changes in existing law be
yond promoting the efficiency of the
militia. It does, It is true, distinguish
between the active and the reserve
militia, but the federal constitution
provides for the organization of all,
and commits this duty not to the
states but to the general government.
The Dick act simply renders the mili
tia enrolled In the states the active
branch of the volunteer service, the
remainder becoming the reserve mill
tin. The right of congress to declare
what Is the militia Is unquestioned. It
Is also unlimited. But It leaves the
determination of the active militia to
the states respectively.
No state can in times of peace keep
troops without the consent of congress,
and congress in the Dick bill accepts
present troops as parts of the active
militia. It is illegal to have any troop3
in any state outside of the will of con
gress. The President can call out any
part of the active militia to repel in
vasion or to suppress rebellion for a
term not exceeding nine months. The
President must first use the regular
army and navy, but if these be in
sufficient then he may call out the
active militia.
The greater part of the Dick act
relates to the better and uniform equip
ment of the active militia. For this
purpose $23,000 has already been
placed to the credit of this state. The
duties of the active militia are not
changed by the Dick bill. If Alabama
accepts the sura offered, neither the
duties nor the control of the troops will
be one bit altered. The governor of
the state remains commander-in-chief
of her militia, and un'il the militia is
called out by the President the gov
ernor controls them. So far as troubled
in the state are concerned no action
would or could bp taken by the Presi
dent of the United States unless the
legislature, if in session, requested it,
or if not in session unless the governor
requested it. If any troops should be
required to be sent out of the state at
any time, the direction by the Presi
dent would unquestionably come
through the governor.
The Dick bill, in short, simply recog
nizes as the active militia the present
forces of the various states, compiling
in convenient form the military law as
it has long existed, at the same time
granting benefits in the way of equip
ment and supplies never before ac
corded to state troops. It should be
accepted cordially by the Alabama na
tional guard, as it no doubt will be by
the militia of every other state.
Iron and Steel Prices,.
Another reduction in the price of
northern iron has taken place, bringing
northern No. 1 down to $19.75, as
against $21.25 last April, and $19.50 one
year ago. The abnormal rise of last
fall and winter have been overcome,
aud normal prices nave been restored.
As long as consumption is maintained
at its present volume present prices
will also be mainiained. The abnormal
prices were due to an excess of con
sumption over production. It is be
lieved supply and demand are at par
ity, and so long ns they remain in that
relation so long will present prices be
maintained.
The reaction that has carried No. 2
foundry down from $22.50 to $16.00,
Birmingham basis, was wholly natural
and reasonable, and if it brings con
sumers into re: rket to compete for
supplies in the last months of the
calendar year, it will serve this district
and the iron trade in general excellent
ly well. It has at any rate stopped
Imports, and the needs of consumers
and the reasonable prices now estab
lished will do the rest.
As soon as the manufacturers meet
and establish prices, particularly for
rails for next year'B deliveries, it Is
believed orders covering the remainder
of this year and 1904 wul come in free
ly, and that railway extensions and
other building enterprises will go on
practically unchecked. This will cer
tainly be the case if large cotton and
corn crops are made in addition to a
large wheat crop now well assured.
Given, too, a settlement of labor
troubles, there will remain nothing in
the way of anotuer prosperous year,
with iron and steel prices held up to
auout the present level.
The versatile kaiser adopted the
American custom and sat up all night
to hear the returns, an- he got pre
cious little comfort out of them.
Russia Is making some concessions
to the Jews, driven to it by public sen
timent of the civilized world, of which
she is not a part.
Despite all statements to the con
trary, the record of '44 was not ex
ceeded on the recent floods of the
western rivers.
This time it is the clock. No con
tract seems to have been awarded in
the postofflee department in many
years honestly.
Mr. Beveridge seems to fill a long
felt want as a vlco presidential candi
date. Beveridges are always much in
evidence.
Phonograph records have como out
of the western floods uninjured. Noth
ing short of a holocaust can hurt thorn.
The kaiser takes the vote of want of
confidence calmly. Ho will not resign,
and he will not hang any socialists.
Minister Bowen has gone back to
Caracas, after dropping Venezuela
into her old-time ouscurity position.
John W. Gates holds the hoodoo
record in Wall street, but there are
other magnates not far behind him.
The shipbuilding trust has on hand
several reams of undigested securities
that are going a-begg'.ng.
The Colombian members of congress
are milking the International railroads
of this country.
Germany’s reichstag and Servia’s
skupschtina are rivals for public at
tention.
The peonage center of disturbance
has been transferred to Georgia.
Massachusetts also has a race war—
between the Italians and Irishmen.
The new Shamrock Is handsome, but
beauty does not win yacht races.
If King Peter does not look out the
army will peter him out also.
A divorce decree made in June
should be declared Invalid.
Mr. Chamberlain’s tariff book w'as
launched on an ebbing tide.
Servla Is not ambitious to become
the Kentucky of Yurrup.
"Slaugh-omobile” is the, better word
for the rea devils.
The Coal Barons are getting their
second wind.
MAYOR JONES A ROOF SLEEPER.
Toledo Telegram to the New York Press.
Mayor Jones is giving friends and ene
mies "the roof habit.” Since he has an
nounced the success of his experiment of
sleeping in the open air. with mosquito
netting about his cot, many persons with
ailments of one sort or anotner are try
ing the cure. "Golden Rule" Jones dors
most of fils sleeping on the roof of his
house. He says:
"Before I began sleeping beyond the
confines of a close room I was troubled
with asthma and bronchitis, but this pure
air treatment has completely cured me.
I feel better than I did twenty years ago.
There is little circulation of air in a
room, no matter how It is arranged. A
person cannot get too much pure air. It
is better than any medicine our physi
cians can administer.
GREATEST MERCHANT IN WORLD.
From the New York Press.
Who Is he? The list of great ones Is
long. Possibly we shall have to yield the
palm to Sir Thomas Johnstone IJpton. He
1b about the only merchant on earth who
can afford to advertise teas by spending
half a million annually on a yacht design
ed to capture the America’s cup. Over
here in the United States we have syndi
cates of millionaires behind our defenders.
Upton stands the racket alone. lie is
worth $50,000,000. Twenty-three years ago
he stood behind a counter waiting on
customers. Thirty years ago he worked
in the rice fields of South Carolina, and
was so poor that he slept with the negroes
in the woods. Today he employs 2000 per
sons in his various establishments, and is
the pet of the king of England. In 1906 he
will be an earl.
HOW TO LIVE 100 YEARS.
New York, June 16.—Dr. John B. Rich,
who is 94 years young and the oldest
native New Yorker in the city, says be
coming a centenarian is as easy ns roll
ing off a log to anyone who will take the
pains. He instructed the Health Culture
club last night on the secrets of perpetual
youth, which he gave as the following:
“Be good-natured; be clean; exercise;
be comfortable; sleep in the most com
fortable bed you can get; don’t eat twice
as much as you need, and don’t eat food
that will abuse that poor old muBcle, the
human stomach.
“The greatest wonder,” he said, “Is
not how people manage to live to the
age of 100 years, but how so many of
them manage to live for thirty-five years.
They haven't time, they say. to take a
little exercise, they haven't time to study
the laws of hygiene and they put things
into their stomach without a thought as
to whether their food and drink are
calculated to make good, rich blood.”
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.
From the New York Press.
Chances come to every man. but nearly
every man asks them to sit down and
wait till he Is ready to take them, and
they move on to the next.
Woman Is the genius of compromise;
she beglps by wanting her son to be
President; she ends by being satisfied to
have him pass the plate In church.
Just as children are fooled Into believ
ing that the drum stick is the best part
of the turkey so that they Will cry for It,
grown-up people are taught that two per
sons can get more out of an Income than
one.
IN HOTEL LOBBIES.
Confusion cf Names.
“Similarity of names causes considerable
embarrassment sometimes," said a well
known citizen yesterday, “and this was
very aptly illustrated in the recent trial
in W'hich Dr. T. F. Robinson of Bessemer
was charged with malpractice. The evi
dence in the case showed that Dr. Robin
son was clearly not guilty of any wrong
doing and he was exonerated. Dr. T. L.
Robertson of Birmingham, however, was
the recipient of many congratulations
from his friends in Birmingham and
throughout the state for his legal victory.
As a matter of fact Dr. Robertson knew
nothing of the case until he saw It in the
papers and the congratulations soon be
came annoying. Dr. Robertson and Dr.
Robinson are the very best of friends
and w’hile Dr. Robertson Is a little bashful
about receiving congratulations intended
for Dr. Robinson he was one of the first
to extend congratulations to Dr. Robin
son."
Best Arranged Building.
“The new home of the Birmingham
Atbletlc club is, I believe, the handsom
est and best arranged building of its
kind in the entire south, not even except
ing New Orleans," said L. D. Lewman
of the firm of M. T. Lewman & Co., who
has been In the city several days.
"The baths are exceptionally hand
some, the gymnasium and spectators’
gallery well arranged, and the club as a
whole, I think, will be very popular.
Miller & Martin, the architects, have de
signed excellently."
M. T. Lewman & Co. is one of the larg
est contracting firms in the south, having
built the Hillman hotel and numerous
other large buildings in various cities. At
present it is erecting for the United
States government three large locks and
dams in the Tombigbee river near Dem
opolls at a cost of nearly a million dollars.
Old Bale of Cotton.
“A sample of a bale of cotton raised
thirty-two 3*e:irs ago was brought to
Selma this week and the bale itself is ex
pected to follow shortly,” said a Selma
man.
“It seems that In 1871 G. B. McKinney,
who died about two years ago. kept over
one bale of cotton until the next season.
Mr. McKinney was an ideal farmer,
rasing enough corn and oats and meat
to supply his own and the wants of almost
the entire community. The next year he
did not plant milch cotton but gave all his
attention to food stuffs and got as high
as $2 for oats and eighteen cents a pound
for bacon and $1.25 a gallon for cane
syrup. He did not need the money for
the cotton and kept the hale in his gin
house, despite the fact that he was offer
ed 20 cents for it.
“The next year, 1873, the panic year, cot
ton went down to 12 cents and Mr. Mc
Kinney vowed he would not sell the bale
at such a price so he has kept It ever
since itaid his brother, into whose posses
sion It came two years ago, has just de
cided to sell it. The bagging has been
renewed twice on the bale and its history
is well known in the vicinity of Mc
Williams’ station on the Louisville and
Nashville railroad in Monroe county.”
Official Route.
W. B. Clements, traveling passenger
agent of the Seaboard Air Line, with
headquarters in Atlanta, Is in Birmingham.
His line has been designated as the offi
cial route for this territory for delegates
to the annual meeting of the National
Educational association, which will be
held In Boston in July. The attendance
at the national meeting is alwaj’s large,
running high Into the thousands. About
seventy Alabamians will visit Boston on
this occasion.
A circular letter calling attention to the
official route has been issued by John W.
Abercrombie, state director of the Na
tional Educational association for Ala
bama and Isaac W. Hill, superintendent of
Education for Alabama. They say that
the meeting in Boston will, it is believed,
be the largest in the historj’ of the asso
ciation. The most famous men and women
to be found in the profession will be there,
and will discuss every phase of educa
tion. Teachers and superintendents will
return to work filled with enthusiasm and
better equipped in both mind and spirit
for their next year's labor.
The Alabama party will concentrate at
Atlanta July 2 and take the fast Seaboard
train at that point.
As a Westerner Sees It.
"Say!" said T. M. Kelley of Kansas
City at the Union station yesterday—a
westerner invariably begins a conversa
tion with "say! '—“do you know this city
reminds me of old Kansas City In the
'Wls? Same stir and rush; every one
seems to have a hustle on, even the mes
senger boys and the 'niggers.' Your
town ain't set quite bo much on end as
ours, but there are hills enough to keep
n fellow from getting homesick—and too
fat.
“And there Is the music of the trolleys,
the tlntlnnnabulutlon of the bells. How
the pripmen (they still call motormen
grlpmen in Kansas City) do play on the
gongs; they actually scent to enjoy the
racket. And you seem to be pulling
buildings right up out of the ground, all
kinds and slses, side by side. But these
are just some of the things that make this
the only town I've seen in the south
where a western man can feel at home,
and after I've attended to a little matter
of business In Nashville I'm coming back
to prospect here. Before I came south
they told me that Atlanta was the only
'real thing’ down here. Well, Atlanta's a
line town; there Is an awful lot of money
In buildings there, and I snwr some nice
stores, but you folks seem to have the
city of the south."
About Person*.
The following persons were registered
at the Hillman yesterday; II. M. Burney
of Atlanta, M. L. McRae of McRae, Ala.,
Wright Hunter of Savannah, Q. M. In
gram and wife of Nashville, W. P. Sparks
of Georgia, N. D. McDonald and wife of
New Orleans, Charles W. Hill of Tusca
loosa, C. W. Cantrell of TIfton. Ga.; C.
Auerbach of San Francisco, T. C. Thomp
son of Chattanooga.
* • •
Col. W. C. Tunstall of Greensboro Is at
the Metropolitan.
• • •
M. D. Seligman of Montgomery Is at the
Metropolitan.
• * •
Ira D. Pruitt and wife of Selma are at
the Metropolitan.
• • •
E. G. Bingham of Buffalo, N. Y., Is at
the Metropolitan.
• • •
The following persons registered at the
Morris yesterday: J. R. Yeatman of St.
Louis. W. H. Kidd of Frankfort, Ky.,
W. L. Miller of Talladega, O. G. Hall of
Montgomery, Charles W. Thompson of
Tuskegee, R. E. Bein of New Orleans.
* • •
Jabal E. Terry of Chicago and M. W.
McCrea of Montgomery are at the St.
Nicholas.
• • •
Charles D. Orr of Richmond. Va., Is at
the Metropolitan.
FORCE OF HABIT IN A COW.
Wades Through a Flood to Tank of
Water to Get a Drink.
From the Enid (Ok.) Eagle.
The force of habit was very forcibly Illus
trated by an Incident last week at the
pumping station of the water works at
Enid. A tank stand Just outside the
building Is kept full of water for the ac
commodation of passers-by and the
neighborhood stock. A cow accustomed
to drink at this tank came for her morn
ing drink. The valley was covered with
water and stood within two or three
Inches of the top of the tank, but the
cow went over the waste of waters to the
tank. Twice she stuck In the mud and
appeared to be in danger of drowning,
but by perseverence she finally reached
the objective point. After drinking long
and copiously she turned about and slow
ly made her way to land, apparently sat
isfied that she had done the only avail
able thing to find water.
ABOUT RUNAWAY MATCHE8.
How the Fond Parents Are Forced Into
the Game, Willy Nllly.
From the point of view of competent
observers the distinctive feature of the
elopements of very young people, which
are so common in American life, is that
paradoxically enough, the parents of the
contracting parties have so r»uch to do
with them.
They are not suposed to have any
thing to do In the premises, but a run
away match brings them face to face
unexpectedly with a series of emotions
and experiences. A lad of nineteen or
twenty and a girl of seventen mate of
a sudden with as little consultation of
their parents' wishes and as little pro
vision of thought for the future as if
they were tenantB of a hen yard instead
of ocupants of a world which for the
best reasons has prescribed a certain
way, a time for doing things. Having
found a clergyman to unite them, they
go to a near by town or neighboring
hotel and wait. They have taken the
irrevocable step, but they have no idea
what to do next. There is where the
parents step in.
In elopements tt is the privilege of the
American parent to forgive his son or
daughter, to welcome the runaway cou
ple back to his home, to give them the
freedom of the house, to install them
after a litle In a flat of their own and
defray the rent of it, to And the son-in
law a paying Job and to instruct the
daughter-in-law sufficiently In the rudi
ments of housekeeping so that she will
know when the kettle boils. Public
opinion cheerfully supports the parent In
these litle overtures to his offsprings and
Inded, expect them as his duty. The
runaways accept them as their right.
All of which goes to show the complete
and shameful abdication which some
American parents make to their children.
It is a wholesome doctrine that young
people shall suit themselves In marrying
and, at the last resort, follow their own
inclination and judgment, even when
erence. But the leadings of the doctrine
do not Justify them in contracting cland
estine attachments or in Insisting on
their own way immediately when the ob
jection of their parents Is merely that
they are too young and would better
wait awhile or In declaring a crowning
disrespect to the father who begot and
the mother who bore them and making
a spectacle of them in the eyes of the
world by marrying without even appris
ing them of their purpose or giving them
a chance to look over the young person
they are about to bring Into the family.
There is a fine old commandment which
enjoins “Honor thy father and thy mo
ther." In few ways could a son or
daughter more dishonor them than by
flouting or ignoring them at the most
significant and Intimate moment that life
holds. There is good ground for all the
bitterness that a parent must feel at
such a juncture—a bitterness rendered
doubly acute by the reflection that his
own heedless trust and Indulgent kind
ness had brought about such a pass and
that it was his own blood that had
turned away from him.
UMBRELLA ETIQUETTE.
From the Philadelphia Telegraph.
Umbrella etiquette hasn't Improved In
tho least, notwithstanding all the rains
we have had. To be sure, wet weather
Isn't conducive to politeness Just as
soon as it begins to rnin we all get cross
and Irritable. We find somebody has bor
row* d our best umbrella and didn't bring
It back. Our rubbers are all out at the
heels, and Just because it rains the stores
ask 50 cents for the 25-cent kind. And
why does it have to rain anyway?
Then we go out and Jab each other
with our umbrellas. When we get in a
crowd we pull our rain protector down
as close to our head ns possible, so we
can't see any one, then ruthlessly forge
ahead. Hair is pulled out, hats ripped
off, eyes put out of commission. But we
don't care. It's raining. When we get
Into a car we carefully lean our dripping
umbrella against the person next to us.
If possible, we plant the tip on his shoe.
It isn't very convenient to take off one's
shoes In the car and run the water out.
But that Is his business, not ours.
When we get off a trolley we open the
umbrella in the face of those waiting to
get on. Several may have their teeth
knocked out, but we can't help tt. Thebe
are a great many other things we can do
with an umbrella, and we do them all.
Nobody Is expected to be polite In rainy
weather. If we attempted It, his bat
tered remains, eyeless, hatless, hairless,
would lie by the wayside a pathetic mon
ument to the foolhardiness of attempt
ing to be courteous on a rainy day.
THE MOCKING BIRD.
By Paul Hamilton Hayne.
(At Night.)
A golden pallor of voluptuous light
Filled the warm southern night;
The moon, clear-orbed, above the sylvan
scene
Moved like a stately queen,
So rife with conscious beauty all the
while,
Whnt could she do but smile
At her own perfect loveliness below,
Glassed In the tranquil flow
Of crystal fountains and unruffled
streams?
Half lost in waking dreams.
As down the loneliest forest dell 1
strayed,
Lo! from a neighboring glade
Flashed through the drifts of moonshine,
swiftly came
A fairy shape of flame.
It rose in dazzling spirals overhead,
\\lienee, to wild sweetness wed.
Poured marvelous melodies, silvery trill
on trill;
The very leaves grew still
On the charmed trees to hearken; while,
for me,
Heart thrilled to ecstacy,
I followed — followed the bright shape
that flew
Still circling up the blue,
Till, as a fountain that has reached its
height
Falls back In sprays of light.
Slowly dissolved, so that enrapturing lay,
Divinely melts away
Through tremulous spaces to a music
mist,
Boon by the fitful breeze
How gently kissed
Into remote and tender silences.
V
COMMENTS CULLED FROM
PAPERS HERE AND THERE
CSLA has told us so many won
derful stories of things past,
present and In the future that
people are not surprised to hear of him
doing all kinds of remarkable deeds. Just
now there is much speculation as to
what the famous scientist will do with a
tower which he had had erected on Long
Island. The tower has been completed
since January 1 and as nothing more is
being done, a good many persons are
wondering what It was built for, any
way. An exchange says:
The great tower erected by Nikola TeBla
on the lonely beach at Warden Clift, on
Long Island, has been finished since Jan
uary last, and yet nothing seems to have
been done in the way of practical results.
At least, Mr. Tesla has not yet taken the
public into his confidence, as he has done
so frequently before, for he Is as silent
as the Sphinx as to his achievements or
hopes at Warden ClilT.
The Tesla tower stands on the loneliest
section of the shore of Long Island, at
Warden Cliff, near Wading river, at the
northern end of the island. It Is remote
from towns, and If the Inventor was seek
ing retirement from the Inquisitive peo
ple he could not have hit upon a happier
spot. I
There he has purchased 200 acres and
has constructed his laboratory, a long
shed-like building. Standing near the
western end of the laboratory Is the
tower. It Is cone-shaped and 150 feet high,
with round, ball-like top. It Is a net
work of steel girders fastened to four
upright girders running up from the
ground.
It has been known for some time that
Mr. Tesla has been working on a system
of wireless telegraphy, but his failure to
accomplish anything definite after these
many months would seem to Indicate that
possibly he Is on another track. It has
been facetiously remarked that, perhaps,
the tower Is part of a scheme to signal
Mars.
Captious critics are frequently heard
criticising the names given to race horses.
It is true that some of them seem to be
sad misnomers but as a rule most of the
names arc very pretty and there are num
bers that are moat happy in their applica
tion. It has been suggested that Sad Sam
could be Improved upon, but this is an ex
ception, and the men who follow the horses
should not be held too strictly to ac
count. Perhaps one of the daintiest names
borne by a race horse this season Is Her
Letter. There are many others equally
as good. Anyway the main thing about
a horse Is to win, and the touts are not
apt to bicker over a name provided their
favorite comes first under the wire.
Although on the question of drinking
the tetnperance people are fond of quot
ing the enormous quantity of liquor con
sumed and its deleterious effects on the
human system, it is seldom that one hear*
a protest against water of the average
healthful properties. However the New
York Tribune says:
Dr. Hamer in a report on aerated waters
in London hazards the opinion that plain
water is less drunk than formerly. It
depends on what is meant by "formerly.”
Water was once in disfavor with the
medical profession. Sir William Vaughan
in his "Natural and Artificial Directions
for Health," pronounced that water "ought
seldom to be drunk." Another doctor ad
mitted that It might be healthy for chil
dren, but not for men—"except some odd
abstemious one among a thousand per
chance, degenerate and of a doggish na
ture, for dogs of nature do abhor wine.”
Indeed, the recommendation of water as a
beverage was the hallmark of the quack,
ajid even Wesley, In his "Primttlvs
Physic," wrote of It with caution: "Drink
only water If it agrees with your stom
ach; if not, good, clear small beer."
Ornamental clocks have long been a
pleasing feature of all neatly furnished
apartments. Of late years the fad for
varied styles in clocks seems to be In
creasing. An exchange says:
Signs are beginning to be manifest that
the clock is to be an item of much greater
decorative importance than it has been
during the past generation or so, when
its utilitarian purpose, rather than Its
decorative possibilities have been first
considered, says the London Telegraph.
This has not always been the case, as
may be seen in the state apartments at
Windsor Castle, or in the Wallace collec
tion, and in many other directions where
artistic taste and rich and beautiful sub
stances have been united to render the
timepieces of bygone days among the
most covetable of collectors’ treasure*.
There is no lack of good models to follow
as soon as public taste demands the same
improvements in its clocks as It has done
in its silverware or furniture of the past
decade or so, and in vl£w of coming de
velopments the Goldsmiths and Silver
smiths’ company, 112 Regent street, have
added to their already extensive premises
a spacious gallery in which to display
side examples from all schools of clock
making. The typical English clock Is set
in wood, and may range from the dainti
est framing after Sheratlon or Chippen
dale, with delicate inlaying for boudoir
or drawing room, to the handsome time
piece for the hall in substantial carved
oak or mahogany, with mountings of
brass, or the massive tall “grandfather”
variety, of which the dial-plate is often
beautifully ornamented.
FEW LONG LIVED PEOPLE
HAVE LIVED BY A RULE
From the New York Times.
"HOSE who find comfort In thV ex
(tj) pectatton of living to a great age
are likely to derive satisfaction
from the confident assertion of Brofessor
Pfluger of the University of Bonn that
the average length of human life is stead
ily increasing. In common with many
persons of less learning, the German stu
dents of the problems of human longevity
are somewhat skeptical concerning the
ages attributed to some of the patriarchs
of Old Testament times. Professor Pflu
ger seems to have good statistical grounds
for his confidence In the lengthening
average of human life. But like most of
those who make a hobby of one line of in
vestigation, he seems to be able to per
ceive most clearly faefs which support
his preconceived notions 'of the reasons
for things. He strongly disapproves of
beer and tobacco, and it is not surprising I
to find that he attributes at least one
third of the deaths recorded In Munich to
heart disease due to beer drinking, and
almost. If not quite, another third to
smoking. Among the forty centenarians
who have come under his notice there
was only one smoker, hut nearly all of
them confessed to a moderate use of al
cohol.
If It be true that the average human
life is lengthening, the fact Is Interesting,
but Its Interest is In nowise Increased by
speculations as to the reasons why some
outlive their generations and near or pass
the century mark. As a general truth It
may be said that very few of these ex
amples of exceptional vitality have known
or observed the rules which a consensus
of medical opinion would be likely to
agree upon as favoring length of days.
A majority of them have worked hard,
lived poorly, and known all kinds of
trouble. Not many of them have been
temperate in their pleasures or indul
gences. As a rule, they are found in alms
houses or charitable institutions, with
few memories save those which relate to
misspent lives. Most of the very old
women have outlived large families of
children, and been through experiences
which made them look like Macbeth’s
witches before they had passed the prime
of life. A New Yorker who claimed to be
the oldest inhabitant, and whose claim
was extensively admitted, in spite of
some skepticism, celebrated what he said
was his 106th birthday by a breakfast
at which a distinguished company gath
ered, and lived three or four years there
after.
lie was chiefly interesting as contradict
ing every accepted rule of longevity. He
was, or said he was, a veteran of the
Napoleonic wars and all his life had been
a soldier of fortune, carrying his mer
cenary sword into every war of his time.
He had experienced every privation and
hardship of successful and unsuccessful
campaigning, had been wounded severe
ly a number of times, had been a hard
drinker from boyhood, had used tobacco
immoderately for eighty years, for fifty
years had been addicted to the opium^
habit, and had practiced every vice with
which his wildly adventurous life in many
countries had made him acquainted. Biit
at the assumed age of 106 he was erect
and in possession of all his faculties, wag
able to eat a good breakfast, empty hii
wine glass as often as it was filled, make
a long, consecutive, and interesting
speech when called upon, and enjoy the
occasion thoroughly.
Perhaps the most interesting fact to
be deduced from individual experience is
that it is not those who give most heed
to the prolongation of life who are most
conspicuously successful in prolonging it.
If Professor Pfluger is right in warning
those who wish to live long against the
thought or fear of death, we shall# have
to look for our centenarians outside the
membership of the Hundred Year club.
HARD WORKERS THRIVE
BEST ON HOMELY FOOD
From the New York Worts.
government's Issuance of a
(vSj) certificate of character to pork
■ and beans may not, but should,
lead to a “boom” for homely dishes, at
least for people engaged In hard physical
labor.
The experience of men at work In win
ter logging camps Is the classic example
of the value of brown bread and baked
beans. Lumbermen not only do very
heavy work, but they are exposed for
long hours to extreme cold. Both for
muscle production and for fuel-heat they
eat almost Incredible quantities of pork
and beans, coarse bread and cheap mo
lasses, with such other delicacies as the
“doctor”—so the cook is facetiously
called—can be wheedled or bullied Into
prescribing.
Along with this government report
comes a medical word from London for
foods not easily or quickly digested. Some
one having started a "bread-crust fad,"
the London hospital Is moved to remark:
“There is no doubt that this plea for
food that demanda some effort In the eat
ing is not untimely In an age when every
body seems to want to have his digestion
done for him.
“For some people these predigested
foods cause an absolute hunger dyspep
sia. ’’’here Is nothing In them to 'stay’
the stomach, and the sufferer would prob
ably be better, Instead of trying to find
something still more digestible, to put
himself for a time on a diet of brown
bread and haricot beans.
“Not that either of these is Indigest
ible. though some might think the latter
was. It Is, indeed, difficult of digestion,
but when digested the food-value Is high
“The really indigestible things are those
which have little food value and make
the stomach work for no profit: but if it
be worth the effort, a food that is diffi
cult to digestion has a certain merit of
its own In that it exercises the organs of
digestion."
A convenient illustration of this lat
ter point is furnished by certain con
tinental princelings of a generation ago
whom the court physicians were too care
fully rearing upon “spoon foods'* and the
like, with the unlooked for result that
their teeth decayed early from lack of
exercise and their digestions suffered. A
much more rough-and-ready regimen Is
now preferred.
Nature has means of compelling men
to obey her. During the terrible Irish
famine days, half a century ago, when
by starvation or emigration Erin’s peo
ple were reduced by two millions in a
single decade, it was noted with wonder
In New England households that recent
immigrants liked potatoes only half boiled
—“with a bone in the middle.’’
This was habit merely. Potatoes so
cooked resisted longer the process of di
gestion and hence staved off the sensa
tion of hunger, though they provided no
more nutriment. When the immigrants
were fed on heartier food, no doubt pork
and beans mainly, this craving for half*
raw potatoes gradually Ceased.
Pork and beans have never been par
ticularly recommended for college ath
letes, for two reasons: As most of the
training is done in comparatively warm
weather there Is less need of fuel-food,
and as “money is no object" when win
ning la the end of the game, the muscle
foods are provided in the most expen
sive form—steaks, chops and roasts.
But a pork-and-beans fed crew of lum
bermen could row a boat pretyv *veil too
If they knew how. \