The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], November 30, 1913, EDITORIAL SECTION, Page 29, Image 29

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

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ROMANCE OF ALABAMA HISTORY—LaFAYETTE’S VISIT—By B. F. Riley. D. D.
IN April, 1825, when LaFayette vis
ited Alabama, the state was about
six years old. Conditions were still
very crude, there being but few roads
and they bad enough in a wet season;
but few villages existed; the country
was sparsely settled; the Indian was
still in tile land, but was now subdued
and peaceable, and a few boats plied
the waters of the rivers. Israel Pick
ens was then governor, and it was
through his patriotic enterprise as a
wideawake governor that LaFayette
was Induced to turn aside from Au
gusta, (ia., and make the overland
trip to Cahaba, the new capital of
• Alabama, instead of going to Charles
ton to take a boat to New Orleans.
A-aFnyette was now about 68 years
*>ld, but he was still vigorous and ac
tive, and so far from a tour through
a region largely wilderness deterring
*.....
I him, he was really anxious to take it.
As he came westward from Augusta,
conditions grew rawer, but every pos
sible provision was made for his com
fort. For months together he had been
in the country as its guest and the
character of the receptions varied in
every respect save one—the cordiality
of the people which was unbounded.
The American Congress had extend
ed to him a formal invitation to re
turn to America on a visit, the invita
tion bt-ing impelled by a double mo
tive, that of showing the revolutionists
of his own land, to whose vengeance
IFayette had fallen a victim, because
of his democratic principles that Amer
ica was his loyal friend and that of
enabling a new generation of Amer
icans to express their gratitude to a
patriot of France who had spilt his
blood in behalf of the independence
that they enjoyed. From the* moment
thet landed on our soil throughout
his was a triumphal journey and ho
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was balled with a universal tumult of
honor and praise. He was compara
tlvely a poor man because of principle.
Though the possessor of vast estates
iu France, they were forfeited or in
plainer language, were confiscated by
the government of France because of
his republican principles. The American
Congress voted him J200,000 in gold
and a township of land. He was deep
ly moved by the gratitude and love it
the young nation, and often in speak
ing in response to welcomes accorded,
his voice would tremble with emotion.
It may be said, in passing, that at
tile one hundredth anniversary of the
battle of Yorktown, in 1881, in whbii
battle T.aFayette shared, a represen
tative of his family was present as the
guest of the nation.
When I,aFayette reached Washing
ton in 1825 there was accorded him an
ovation that was almost overwhelm
ing. From long distances the common
people had traveled, some coming on
foot, others on horseback. In ox carts,
wagons, carriages and every way man,
__
women and children, to catch a glimpse
of the great ally of Washington and
patriot of the revolution, and all about
the city on the outside were their
braying mules, neighing horses and
lowing oxen in the midst of an un
broken encampment formed by the
country folk. In crushing multitudes
they thronged about LaFayette, in gen
uine democratic style, seeking to grasp
his hand, a demonstration that was as
much enjoyed by LaFayette as by
themselves. Henry Clay was then
speaker of the House ami his speech
of welcome to I^aFayette Is one of the
most splendid bursts of oratory that
ever came from his musical lips. The
reply of the distinguished Frenchman
did him great honor. It isi a pity that
these great deliveries are buried in
old and musty books of which but lit
tle is known. Wherever KuFayett* ap
peared in Washington the unrestrained
multitudes would rush frantically to
ward him as though they would devour
him.
From Washington he planned his
trip southward and westward, or to
ward the great southwest, as Ala
bama. Mississippi and Louisiana were
then called. In making his dates in
advance he knew practically nothing
of the nature of the country, nothin^
of the difficulty of travel, so that by
the time he reached the eastern bor
der of Alabama he was several days
behind time. So far from delay cool
ing the ardor of the people, it had just
the opposite effect. The- interest deep
ened. widened and seethed meantime,
and his announced coming into a given
region absorbed all things else. Even
the Indians of Georgia and of Ala
bama were seized by the contagion of
enthusiasm, and while knowing little
or nothing of LaFayette or of his ca
reer, they learned that he was the
friend of Washington and a great war
rior, and so joined with native ardor
into the excitement of his reception.
A body of painted warriors with varied
and gay plumage, and with bodies
stained in divers colors, and wearing
red and striped blankets, insisted on
becoming a part of his escort through
Georgia, and cherished the privilege
of serving him with the most minute
servility. There is a good side to hu
manity always if we only reach it.
To the Indians it was a specie.1 delight,
to shoot down an occasional buck on
the way and to present it to the polite
Frenchman between whose cultured
conventionality and the rude but
touching sincere klndnes of the Indian
there was an amusing difference.
With great effort and sacrifice. Gov
ernor Pickens had made every arrange
ment possible for as august demon
stration as the young state could give
to the eminent guest, of the nation.
His plans were perfect In every de
tail, for lie was an executive master,
as Is shown by the correspondence in
the possession of the present writer,
between him and the militia command
ers, as well as with the civil author
ities and prominent citizens. Ths chief
difficulty seems to have been to raise
a fund sufficient for a demonstration
worthy of the great French patriot.
for money was exceedingly scarce in
those infant days of struggle, hut
Pickens was indefatigable and he had
a way of accomplishing whatever he
set his hands to. Fortunately for Gov
ernor Pickens was the delay of La Fay
ette, as this enabled him to execute
more to his satisfaction the vast and
difficult plans relating to the series
of receptions along the triumphul
march of LaFavette through Alabama.
For days together LaFayette, was lost
to the public, as traversing the wild
erness he was lost In its depths mak
ing his way as best he could from the
Savannah to the Chattahoochee tinder
the protection of the Georgia escort of
militia and painted Indian warriors.
The correspondence shows that he
could not be heard of for days to
gether. but on the banks of the Chat
tahoochee the provided escort waited
day after day till ho should appear.
He at lust came within sight and the
demonstration began and novel enough
It was. Of this we shall learn more in
the article next succeeding.
WOMAN’S PROFESSIONAL EFFICIENCY—By George Eaves. D. D.
IN a recent story a husband falis
under the influence of an act
ress who, however, does not de
sire his attentions. The wife, fur
iously indignant, electrical with bitter
wrath, faces the actress, but Is
checked by the other's calm and con
vincing manner. Briefly stated, the
wife's misery is met by the pungent
| questioning of the artistic lady, who
j demands to know what preparation she
had made for her profession. Her
"profession?” Is wifehood to be con
sidered a calling? At first the idea
seemed absurd, but under the lumin
ous judgment of the other woman, the
wife learns that the new view is the
true one. While actresses and singers
and business women put years of hard,
persistent work into their equipment
for a chosen life task, she, the wife,
had lazily and selfishly and blindly as
sumed that her task required no more
than that she should perch upon a
throne and expect her husband to do
her homage. He, poor fool, had grown
weary of so one-sided a bargain, and
was surrendering to the flashing splen
dors of this other and more intelli
gent woman.
What else could be expected? In n
chastened mood the wife went home to
take up the duty of wifehood more
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as a high profession, a duty, deserv
ing and obtaining her utmost care.
The story stands side by side In
my mind with another, just culled from
a Scottish or English writer, Marjory
rtoyce. This Is entitled, "The Misses
Smith.” I have not space to give de
tails, hut It Is enough to say that the
first Miss Smith Is 24 years old. In a
London boarding house, her father and
mother recently dead, her money near
ly gone, no profession or business
known to Iter, her advertisements and
answers to advertisements unacknowl
edged, and the awful question, how to
live, waiting for her like a foul and
threatening monster. In such a crisis
she gets a telegram, evidently Intend
ed for another Miss Smith on the same
street, calling her to take a situation
In another county. She accepts It us
though it were, an answer to her agon
ized prayers, and rushes off to the
place appointed, learns that the tele
gram Is meant for a woman 43 years
old, but persuades the employer to
give her a chance.
And what is the task? To be nurse
for a ricli man's children. She gladly
assumes this funetidn, hut next day
the other Miss Smith arrives, 43 yeais
old, angered to find her post taken,
since a letter, following the purloined
telegram, had warranted her coming.
She is 43, nearly an old woman! She
knows how hard it is to find "a place."
Site goes down* on her knees, begging
to bp given a trial. The other girl
does the same and the house mistress
refers the problem to her husband. He
gratefully accepts both women s serv
ices that lie may have more of Ills
wife's society, and so the immediate
question Is decided, lint burnt, etched
with acid Into the reader’s mind is
the picture of two capable women
begging for the privilege of having a
roof over their heads, quarreling and
scheming and competing with each
other for the paltry wages paid to a
nurse girl! Capable both, but un
trained.
It would carry me too far afield to
tell what only yesterday a large em
ployer of girls and women said to me,
here in our city, of the impossibility
of finding persons who can do the
simple duties of saleswomen and book
keepers. This lies outside the pale of
the normal home-malting functions of
women. My point today is the Jet of
light that falls equally from the^first
and the second story which I have
summarised.
Homes broken or imperilled be
cause the home-maker does not bring
training to her task! Women looking
death or shame In the face, going
through humiliating miseries and mis
erable humiliations to obtain the
crumbs that fall from a rich man's
table, because they Have no trained
skill! No recognition by parents or
daughters of the fact that wages and
salaries, homes and positions, imply
not only capacity but training, effi
ciency.
1 am aware that the same sort of
thing may be said of husbands as c,"
wifes, that they often have failed of
preparation for the “profession" of
home-maker and father. Nothing is
more true than that any man's best
capacities are taxed if he is to dis
charge this high business. On the oth
er hand, so unequally is the burden of
the home distributed, it is on the wom
an, not the man. that the chief re
sponsibility must long continue to fall.
She must know both how to keep her
husband, how to enlarge his reverence
and loyalty for her, and also how to
manage the home, with whatever chil
dren may come to it. In these days,
when divorces are almost as common
as marriages, the way of relief de
serves to be sought with the utmost
solicitude. For life is getting more
and more complex, more and more dif
ficult for women and men.
There can be no doubt that the
greatest single difficulty in the path of
wives is the financial task: How to
keep up a decent home on a relative
ly small income? A fewr women are
freed from the one side of this diffi
culty, because they marry rich men
and can afford to be careless. But no!
LThey least of all can afford to be
| careless. For all the sweeter personal
lvalues of the home depend on the
[strong and capable handling of its
management. For the sake of her own
personality, that the home Itself b?
^ot defrauded, the richest woman must
also face her professional duties. Be
ing matron, she Is purchaser, nurse,
chef and all the other officers in
cluded In the captaincy of the home.
If she is not house-mother, what is
she? A toy? An accident? A shining
and irridescent bubble of beauty and
grace? Though she may even be child
less. still she must mother the home
or pay the penalty. And what is the
penalty of not being "on the Job.’*'
Thousands of beautiful homes have
answered that question with the wreck
age that has strewn thousands and
tens of thousands of human lives. It is
the finer things that count, not bread
alone.
2. As for the homes of the working
folk, we have seen them also almost
obliterated by the moral agonies of
the money question. Certain tempta
tions proved irresistible, and honor
went with trust: in a gigantic ruin. The
need of increased comforts, the com
petition with others of larger means,
the greater cost of dress, and all the
problems of home beautifying have had
their part In the final cataclysm; but
the radical trouble was tho wife’s in
ability to cope with her department ol
the business. She had no professional
efficiency. For there is no calling on
are superhuman, but some are less so;
others more. Where natural endow
ments are trusted most securely, pre
ciscely there they are of the least
value, namely in the business of
charming and keeping charmed the
earth with half the technical difficulty
that besets hers. The woman who can
fulfil it perfectly is rare Indeed. Man
Is stomach as well as soul, digestion
as well as love.
Here and there are men and women
who enter wedlock with no more
worldly pelf than Bunyan could hoasl,
a few pots, a chair, and some old books
on religion. Here and there is n cou
ple who had not so much as that. I
am not sure that the practice is al
ways harmful. Much depends on the
intrinsic capacity of both parties to
keep out of debt and to maintain their
mutual devotion. Rut the pinch comes
when children arrive, more clothes
have to be bought, the most made of a
little: and perhaps the light of life
goes out In a little coffined child.
For Poverty often holds open the door
for Death to enter.
Hence It is clear that the most ordi
nary home demands of the wife that
she have a business head, to use the
money wisely, a skilful hand to make
the most of the clothing and the cook
ery, and a modest heart, to subjugate
the longing for more beautiful habil
iments than are within her reach, and
to keep the soul uppermost among
things sordid.
3. Plain natural endowments may and
often do avail to put inexperienced
girls on fighting terms with life. Yet
a reasonable schooling is essential to
her of the average mind. All women
other half of the firm. Inefficiency Is
the name we give to that sort of mis
management which leaves a vague dis
satisfaction in its wake. A real mental
equipment, a sweet variety of personal
force, Inseparable from intellectual
and moral culture, must be the main
stay of a wife's efficiency. Women who
have It will not often lack a home.
Now. it may he that In another phase
of human evolution the duties of ths
sexes will he readjusted. In the mean
time, however, womanhood must, hold
its own by preparation and training
even more careful and exacting than
a man's training for a successful busi
ness career. When girls come to see
this, they will be. prepared also *for
any crisis that may arise, before »r
after marriage, thrusting them. i»er
haps, among the bread winners. Till
they do see it. the story of the Misses
Smith will get repeated, with added
horrors of outer darkness, or else after
marriage husbands will follow the lure
of other and more brilliant or more
satisfying society. The era of thing*
that die will thus he long perpetuated, •
as the destiny of homes. Meantime it
iH in the power of American woman
hood to Introduce in every American
city an era of reading, thought and
the culture of the inner life, built upon
a solid foundation of physical well
being for every member of the home.
Clearly It is a social crime to let git Is
grow up untaught, undisciplined, un
ready for the possible storm, unreaiy
even for a calm voyage.
ANOTHER EASTWOOD STORY—By Dr. W. E. Evans
TJTE gathering at Eastwood would
now be called a ' house party," hut
in those days, when I was 14 years
old, I do not think it was so designated.
Yet, that is what is was. For about six
young ladles and four young men had
been invited to come to us and spend 10
days In merry idleness. In addition to
these there were present Aunt Mary, of
whom I have written before in these col
umns, and her husband. Colonel Drum
*oold.
It was in the early summer and East
wood was looking its very best. The
flower gardens were full of early roses,
and graceful vines were mantling the
fences. The wild honeysuckle was just
beginning to open its fragrant blossoms,
and the box lining the yard-paths had
assumed a fresh, glossy green. The old
trees forming the grove around the house
were not in fullest leafage yet, bu{. the
foliage was dense enough to cast a
shadowy veil and softening aspect over
the surroundings of the old house.
The days were passed in boating on the
river, or in woods parties, while the even
ings were made happy by music, dancing,
or pld fashioned whist. Indeed, my grand
mother's idea of hospitality found expres
sion in having no plans for her guests.
She let them do what most pleased them
eelves as the occasion arose. Everything
was an impromptu suggestion, and merri
ly the hours passed on lightest wing.
One evening as everybody passed from
the dining room into the long drawing
room and were seating themselves as
their pleasure dictated, Miss Pocahontas
Rose, addressing my grandmother, asked,
'•Cousin Mary, is Eastwood the oldest
I house in the county?"
“No. dear, Walsingham is older. That
was built in 1780. and Eastwood not until
1787, the year of the ratification of the
United States constitution by Virginia.”
“What massive houses they built in
those days,’’ observed Miss Boling, “they
always remind ine of secret stairways,
subterranean passages, and hidden panels
in the walls, like old English houses.”
"We have no secret stairways, non sub-1
terranean galleries,” said my grandmoth
er, “hut we have a hidden panel right
here in this room."
“C^h, how interesting," ejaculated Miss
Margaret Cammeron, "where is it?"
My grandmother arose and asked Mr.
Edgar Page to remove the portrait of
George Mason, the framer of the bill of
rights, and one of my ancestors. The
removal of the portrait showed no dif
ference in the panneling from that which
could be seen all around the room; but
my grandmother touched a spring about
four feet from the secret panel, and the
latter slowly opened, disclosing a small
closet about a foot wide and three feet
in height. “Oh, how ghostly," exclaimed
Miss Uucy Carter.
Grandmother then proceeded to tell of
certain times when this secret closet was
used, and how valuable papers and fam
ily jewels had been preserved in it. “How
ever,” she added, *it has not been used
since the war."
Mr. Page was about to rehang the por
trait, when grandmother said she’d rath
er wait till morning and have Jasper dust
the frame before it were restored to its
place. She had hardly completed the sen
tence when Jasper came to the door and
called grandmother.
She was gone for about 15 minutes, and
on her return told us smiling that she
had a caller—a tramp—who wanted some
thing to eat, and a night's lodging. "He
is now in the kitchen eating his supper."
I quietly slipped out of the drawing room
and went to the. kitchen, where I saw a
hard, weather-beaten, ragged and tierce
looking man, whose, dark face was
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fringed with grizzled beard, and whose
eyes sugested the wildness of a wolf.
While he was eating his glance turned In
every direction. He took in. the whole
place. 1 was alarmed, for I believed him
to be a burglar, and by the look of him,
not too good to commit murder if it suit
ed his purpose. After he had eaten Jas
per showed him to the office in the yard,
where there was a comfortable bed and
where he was to spend the night.
When I returned to the drawing room I
found the subject of conversation to be
about, burglars, thieves and murderers.
Mr. Alston thought that grandmother
should have sent the man away, and Miss
Emily Royal said: ‘T know I shall not
sleep a wink tonight." Said grandmother:
"There’s nothing downstairs that he could
take, but the silver in the dining room,
and that is always locked securely; now,
If he should find his way upstairs to the
hall reception room he might make us
much poorer than we are, for the old
family jewelry is there: yet I have no
fears. By the way, I’ll show you the
jewelry I speak of when we go upstairs.’’
About 11 o’clock the men went to their
rooms in the north wing of the house, and
the ladies were assembled in the upper
hall reception room wondering at the
antique brooches, rings, earrings and
medallions that had been in the family
for many generations, which grandmother
had4 poured out of a buckskin bog upon
the table. Among these treasures there
was a medallion which Louis XVI had
given one of my ancestors, at St. Cloud,
In 1790. This medallion contained a por
trait of the King himself, and the gold
frame was ornamented with 2S diamonds.
The curios were gathered up into the
bag, finally, and placed behind some books
in the bookcase. "I’ll not lock them up
tonight, for I want you girls to help me
rub them up in the morning,’’ said grand
mother. Miss Emily Royal exclaimed,
as the ladies started for their rooms: "I’d
never trust those things out of my sight
for a minute. O, I'm so nervous about
them, for there's a tramp on the place.”
It must have been 12:30 o’clock before
the talking In the rooms entirely ceased.
All the lights were extinguished except
two, the hall lamp upstairs and one in the
hall downstairs. From one year’s end to
another these lamps burned at night. I
had been quite excited by the talk about
burglars during the evening, and was so
nervous that I opened my eyes a number
of times expecting to see the tramp
creeping along the hall, for T had left my
door open. My room was next to grand
mother's.
It must have been about 2 o’clock, when
my nervousness was greatest. I arose
from my bed and went to the window,
but all was quiet outside. I then tried to
reason myself into serenity. While I was
thus arguing with myself J was alarmed
by hearing light footsteps in the hall. I
crept to the door and saw a white figure
pass into the reception room, and in an
instant return with the buckskin bag of
jewels. It was Miss Emily Royal. She
passed my door, descended the stairway.
In amazement. I followed. She opened
the drawing room door, and in an in
stant returned. 1 hid behind a portiere
till she was passed. She entered her room.
Not till about 4 o’clock did I fall asleep.
Ix>ng before the guests were downstairs
grandmother wras stirring about and di
recting that things be placed and the
house put to rights. The portrait that tjad
been removed was hung up again, and
the drawing room was ready for the re
ception of the guests. All w’ere present at
breakfast, except Miss Emily Royal. She
sent her excuses. She had taken cold and
would not be dowm to breakfast. L»ater
in the day she appeared, r, supposing
that she was playing some practical joke
in appropriating the jew’els, said nothing
about what I had seen.
About 12 o’clock grandmother proposed
that they begin work on her curios and
clean them. She wrent to the room where
they were kept, and a cry of alarm
startled the house—the jewels wrere gone.
Search was mnde, hut they could he
found nowhere. “Where’s the tramp?”
was asked by several persons at once.
“Jasper reported that he left about sun
up.” answered grandmother. Edmund
Leigh volunteered to ride after him. Late
in the afternoon he returned, but said
the tramp was not to he. found, but he
had given notice to the sheriff whose con
stables were already out searching. I
never saw my grandmother so distressed.
During the whole day Miss Emily Royal,
white and nervous, listlessly looked upon
all that, was going on. I changed my
mind. I now saw' that no practical joke
was played. J was overwhelmed with
emotion, and with tears streaming down
my face T had to acknowiedge to myself
that Miss Emily Royal had st-. I could
not say it. I hated myself for thinking
it. I went out of the house and sat in
the shade of an old poplar tree about 200
yards from the house. There was going
on within me a boundless tumult. I knew
that, she had taken the Jewels, yet. to say
so W’ould he to blast forever the fair name
of a beautiful young woman, whom‘every
body loved. 1 prayed that she might have
the moral courage to make a clean breast
of it all, but there seemed to be no like
lihood of this.
Two days passed. A merry crowd went
to the station to meet Miss Mary Barton,
daughter of Judge W. H. Barton, who
had been included in the invitations to
Eastwood, but who had been detained till
this late day. Miss Barton was a lovely
young woman, and did much to brighten
up everybody, for all wfere depressed by
the mysterious loss of the Eastwood
Jewels.
On the day of Miss Barton’s arrival
Miss Emily Royal seemed to be in better
spirits than for several days past. Yet,
she would not talk of the loss that had
been sustained at Eastwood, and seemed
to be hiding her thoughts by trifling small
talk that meant nothing; indeed, she was
apparently forever preoccupied. The ten
sion among the family was very great.
although grandmother, considerate of the
pleasure of her guests, had forbidden us
to talk any more of the lost jewels.
I was wandering among the trees back
of the vegetable garden on the fourth day
after the jewels had disappeared. I sud
denly became conscious that I was not
alone, for approaching my direction there
was Miss Royal. O, she was so beautiful.
T thought of some words that 1 had
heard grandmother repeat, as I saw her:
"Is she not more than painting can ex
press.
Or youthful poets fancy when they love?"
Miss Royal did not see me. I stood be
hind a beech tree on whose white hark
n number of names had been carved by
lovers' pocket knives. She stopped near
me Her appearance was one of anxiety,
and she placed a hand over her heart.
She paused, and then exclaimed: "Oh.
what shall I do? How may I extricate
myself? How shall I frame It? What
shall I say?" She passed on. I was about
to call her, but quickly thought, "No,
she will tell It herself."
That same evening after supper we
were all sitting in the drawing room. Miss
Barton was full of merriment, and de
lighted us with funny hoarding school
experiences. She told us, among other
tilings, of a “red-haired girl who stam
mered, and the thing stammered all over
your mouth whenevei she kissed you;,
but she was a good hearted girl, and
saved you, Knsilv. from a dangerous fall
that nigW walking in your
sleep. 'v, do you ever
walk ys; if you do
I wa mi out of mv
roorr No, 1 have not
walk years."
M> at if I had not
spot v. I had not
thot i to be natural,
hut nely excited as
T 8; nave walked in
you saw you." The
whole company laughed. “When was It?"
I looked her square in the face, and her
beautiful eyes were the home'of pol ity
aud womanly honor. I then told w hat
I saw on the night of the disappearance
of the jewels. “You brought the bag out
of the reception room.” “O, for the love
of merry, why have you not told me this
before." pathetically exclaimed the young
lady. “What did l do with the hag?" T
answered, “You came downstairs with It
Into this room." “Did I have it when I
returned to my room?” “I did not see it,"
I replied. “Then I must have left It here
somewhere. I remember 1 had a troubled
dream about the jewels, and wanted to
put them In a secure place to keep them
safe from the tramp who was on the
place that night,” said the perplexed
young lady. “Let's all look for them, for
they are in this room.’’ said Mr. Alston.
! A search was made. Everything port
able was turned over or upside down,
without avail. Finally. Colonel Drum
gookl said, 'You will all remember that
the portrait of George Mason was taken,
down that night, and the secret panel
was disclosed, and that next morning
the portrait was re-hung. I’ll bet ten
dollars that you will find the jewels In
the secret panel." Ounce more the old
portrait was taken down, the panel open
ed, and there, safe and sound, was the
buckskin bag with its treasure intact.
There was much laughter and merry
making in the old home that night.
On the day before our guests were to
leave us. I was plucking roses near a
summer house, when Mr. Page and Miss
Emily Royal, not seeing me, were pass
ing. I heard Miss Royal say, “That
you love me l do not question, and I am
iaigely responsible for it. 1 am in great
trouble about it, and 1 have suffered mor«
than T can tell you since you told me
of your love; but there Is another." And
this wus all f could hear. It explalnedi
to me Miss Royal's distress of mind of
a few days before, behind the vegetable
garden under the beeches.
BUSINESS MEN, NOT KINGS, NOW GREAT WAR MAKERS—I : , rd Spillane
O Lord Cowdray the doubtful |
honor is given of being the man s
without whose support Huerta’s
government would have fallen a month
ago. He has disclaimed credit for ad
vancing money to the dictator, or for
arranging loans to carry on the de
facto government, but there is no doubt
that he has played a powerful part in
Mexican affairs and had much to do
■with the British government's recog
nition of Huerta.
His lordship is the greatest con
tractor in the world. He is better
known as Sir Weetman Pearson, hav
ing been raised to the peerage by Mr.
Asquith only a few years ago. He em
ploys armies of men and his Operations
extend nil over the globe. He controls
the wonderfully rich oil fields in the
Tampico district and has managed to
operate them with slight intreruption
through all the turmoil that Mexico
has experienced since Madcro started
the rebellion against Porflrio Diaz. He
Is probably Mexico's largest individual
creditor through works of harbor im
provement and mammoth undertakings
for which he contracted with the gov
ernment. With the London banking
Interests that ary behind him he wields
great influence.
War used to he the privileg of kings.
Now it is the prerogative of bankers,
llaeial hatreds have brought on com
paratively few conflicts in the last
years. Commercial rivalry or the grei d
6f trade has overturned a dozen gov
ernments, wiped out tens of thousands
of human lives and caused various
changes in the map of the world within
the same quarter of a century.
Lord Cowdray should not bo con
fused with that other Pearson of the
Pearson-Farquhar syndicate, who also
has great interests in Mexico. . The
Pearson of Pearson-Farquhar fame is
an American but has the support of
British and I^reneh banking interests.
The American Pearson is the traction
lord and the hydro-electric power lord
of Mexico, while the English Pearson is
tlic oil king and the man who lias built
most of tile harbors that now are open
to deep druft vessels. Between the two
of them they have made the name of
Pearson one to be conjured with Li
Mexico.
For a contractor Lord Cowdray is about
} as quiet and modest an indivdual as a
person is liable to meet. He has done an
immense amount of development work for
the republic of Brazil His contracts
■with the British government have amount
ed to scores of millions of dollars. One
job—that of the new harbor of Dover—
was a gigantic undertaking. But he does
not depend on government contracts. The
world is his oyster. He is ready for any
thing in which there is profit and it does
not matter if it is in China or in Chili.
Ths bigger it is the better he likes it.
Nothing is too big for hjm. One evidence
of how he goes about getting work was
given in New York.
When the Pennsylvania railroad made
its plans for tunneling under the Hudson
river to get into the city and then under
the East river to connect with the Long
Island railroad all the great contracting
firms of America put in bids. They were
sure one of them would land the prize.
But his lordship came to town one day
and submitted figures. They got for him
a big portion of the work. How he put
the job through well within the time limit
and scouted away to Mexico and other
portions of the world where he had other
contracts under way rather surprised
those Americans who thought Englishmen
were slow. What surprised them still
more was the thoroughness with which he
did every detail of that Pennsylvania
work. His force of men showed training
and skill that only come from complete
organization. Persons who ought to know
GdethalA-—to compare with Lord Cowdray
Goothul*— to compare with Lord Cowdray
as an engineer and handler of skilled and
rough labor.
The Mexican problem would be a simple
one If Mexico was not so rich. Its natural
resources are wonderful. The country has
been called the treasure house of the
world. The American is viewed with less
favor in Mexico than is the Englishman,
the Frenchman, or the German. That
adds to the complexity of the situation.
It lias strengthened the position of such
me n as Lord Cowdray. The Mexicans
never have forgiven the Americans for
what happened in 1845, when General Tay
lor swooped down from the north and
beat Santa Anna at Palo Alto, Reseca de
la Palma, and Buena Vista. Even if
they could forgive or forget Taylor, they
cannot forgive the invasion of Scott
through the Valley of Mexico from Vera
Cruz Into the capital city, with Cerra
Gordo, PiSebla and Chapultapec as re
membrances of hii journey.
It matters nothing to the average Mex
ican that it w the United States that \
came to the r ue of that distressed na
tion when Na* jleon the Third put Max
amiliun on the throne. The Mexican per
sists in believing that the people of the;
north intend some day to seize Mexican
territory, and that American enterprise is
only the forerunner of American. con
quest.
One element that went against Madero
was the fact of his intimate relations
with Americans. The Madero family has
offices in New York and considerable
business in the United States. Rivals
of Madero made capital of the idea that
Madero*s friendship for Americans was
a menace to Mexico.
Business and politics are so clpgely
interwoven in Mexico that any situation
such as developed through Madero’s ad
ministration was bound to bring his po
litical rivals and the Europeans ^ho had
business enterprises in Mexico into closer
relations.
Venezuela would not have had so many
storms within the last 15 years but for,
the great value of its asphalt deposits
at Trinidad. General Cipriano1 Castro
was open in his declaration that most
of his troubles were due to a great, com
pany with headquarters in New York,
which wanted a free hand in its opera
tions in Trinidad. He accused this com- j
pany of arming and equipping forces
against him. Maybe he was correct and
maybe he wasn't. At any rate, he made
all the trouble he could for the New York
concern and for other foreigners who
had various interests in Venezuela. His
fight against the foreigner was solely for
his country. It was a very dull year
when England, France, Germany, Hol
land, or the United States didn’t send a
flock of warships down to La Guayra to
threaten to blow that town off the map
if Castro didn’t pay the claims of for
eign business men whose interests or in
vestments in Venezuela had suffered
through Castro’s attitude.
Castro is out of Venezuela now. He is
an exile. He is not wanted anywhere.
He is pretty tough citizen from all
accounts, but he is one of the few Latin
American governmental heads who con
sistently opposed the foreigner invading
his country. His platform was Venezuela
for the Venezuelans. There are not a
few South Americans and Central Amer
icans who have a lot of respect, if not
admiration, for Cipriano (.’astro. They
think his ideas were right, even if he
had a coarse way of carrying them out.
One of the troubles of Cipriano was that
he didn’t believe in paying any debt if
it was owed to a f—
where he was wrong
got into trouble—a trouble that has been
a very serious handicap to Venezuela.
Business knows no land nor flag. This
is shown by the recent case of the
Krupps. Every charge made by the
socialist leader in tlie Reichstag was
more than borne out by the investi
gation which the German government
reluctantly made. The Krupp estab
lishment is the largest in the world
engaged in the manufacture of war
mterial. It employs more than 40,(h»0
persons. It has been a semi-public in
stitution, being subsidized by the Ger
man government. Despite this fact, it
was broght out in the investigation
that for many years the Krupps have
maintained spies in the war depart
ment of Berlin, to keep the managers
of the works advised of everything
connected with the government’s mili
tary establishment. At the same time
the Krupps have spent considerable
money to inflame the foreigner against
Germany. They ha\e procured the
publication in French newspapers of
matter tending to promote a clash be
tween the two nations. It was all don.*
in the « ourse and in the cause of busi
ness. The Krupps wanted Germany to
increase its army and to increase its
armament. At tlie same time it wanted
France to increase its army and in
crease its armament. As a business
concern the Krupps were not averse t»>
selling goods to the French. They did
so just before the Franeo-Prussian war
and there was no good reason why
they should not repeat. A war between
France and Germany would be of tre
mendous value to tile Krupps. It would
intail colossal losses to France and
to Germany not only in tbe destruc
tion of material but in the waste of
lives.
All this mattered not to the Krupps.
it would seem. It is to the credit of
Bertha Krupp, the woman who is the I
head of the house of Krupp, that sh<- \
knew nothing of what was going on
A score of officials of the Krupp es
tablishment have been dismissed and
disgraced and various attaches of th<
German war office, who took tile
Krupps bribes, have been sent to
prison. The whole scandal has been j
of incalculable value to Germany and I
to France. It has made clear to the
people of the two neighboring nations j
that many of the situations that have '
brought them to the verge of war
may have been the development of
selfish interests, such as those of the
Krupps in this particular instance.
They will hesitate a while hereafter be
fore they get excited and talk of rush
ing to arms. They will want Ip know
if the whole thing isn't a scheme such
a.s they now know about.
The Boer war was brought on prac
tically by one man, Cecil Rhodes. B it
for his ambition, the Boer republic
probably would be one of the govern
ments of the world today. The Boers
interfered with his business enter
prises. lie had his own desires regard
ing South Africa. He instituted tin;
Jameson raid, in which John Hays
Hammond, the eminent American en
gineer, took part. Rhodes' ambition
cost England tens and tens of thou
sands of lives and hundreds and hun
dreds of millions of dollars. Great
Britain may get the money back in
time, for South Africa is immensely
rich, but she will never get back tie
lives that wrere sacrificed. There have
been few more unworthy wars. It was
one of greed, pure and simple—busi
ness greed.
It is not generally known, but it is
a fact, that a New York banker did
more than any other one man to keep
alive the Cuban revolution and to
bring about the freedom of the Pearl
of the Antilles. The banker was Juan
M. Ceballos. He was American born,
but of Spanish blood. Strange to say.
all his sympathies in regard to Cuba
were with the Cubans. He had large
Interests in Cuba, having a plantation
in the island and investments in vari
ous industrial concerns, and he also
controlled what was known as the
Spanish steamship line. He aided in
getting supplies to the various revolu
tionary bodies that took up arms
against tlie Spaniards and he furnished
not a little money through all the
years that the patriots fought on. He
worked so secretly and so cleverlj
that his active interest and partlcipa
tlon in the revolution were not sus
pected by the Spanish authorities
When the United States declared wJ
on Spain he was one of the happlel
men in America.
His influence in Cuban affairs aft
freedom was declared was great. The
who were in a position to know sor
thing of how large a part he played, u
to say that the office of the real Pi
ident of Cuba was at S William stij
New York. That is where Ceballos
his bank.
In Cuba as a republic, Ceballos
larger financial investments than in <
as one of the dependencies of Spalr
didn't matter who was President
practically influenced tlie whole go
ment of Cuba. This lasted for .
years. Then Cuba had a sensation f
as it never had before. One day
came known that Sepor Silver!#
trusted agent of Ceballos, and al;
trusted agent, of several other hi
had chartered a steamship, had/
|everal million dollars of got
aboard and had sailed away tor!
unknown. The seas were searej
Siberia, or at least they were s
to be searched, but he was noti
The bank of J. M. Ceballos & (j
as a result of the disappearanci
veria. One day In 190i> Ceballos
dead. Within the last six mont
Silveria has been in New Yop
not the first time that he has 1:
No effort ever has been made
him in New' York, or, so far as
elsewhere. He Is a man of v»
a man of mystery.
The old Shah of Persia still
on the throne and hift kingi
jog along in its drowsy we
business. When William Mo
ter was sent to Persia, it wat
York banker. He would ha\
in Persia and have put the a
Shah and the Shah's goveri
scientific basis if it had n .01
the business jealousies of and
big men of France, Germa England
and Russia that forced Shu .er out and
then got Russia to send an army dowr 1
almost to Teheran to pee that he packer
h didn’t take any
t y.
ent to war over
1 lent of Corea ami
de of China were
rn to tear at each
it has brought the
iml has made that
ibllc. How that is
one alone will tell.
b contending for the
in the opening up.
nlng. of sleepy old
parcel out the good
reling. or it may be
<*, as she did in the
loan that the great
uke her assume. If
Aar, it will be a husi
i Chile and Peru was
one of business.1 Peru had great guano
and nitrate deposits. Chile envied her
neighbor these possessions. English and
American financiers were riot altogether
uninterested when (’Idle sought a pre
text bn which to make war on Peru. The
nitrate and the guano fields now- belong
to Chile. Their exploitation has brought
great wealth to a group of prominent
Englishmen and Americans. From a
business standpoint that was was an ex
cellent one. Only Peru mourns. She lost
rich territory and a lot of her people
who were slain. *
Turkey has had two wars within a year
—one due to business, and the other to
racial hatred.
Italy seized Tripoli for business rea
sons.
The Bulgarians. Montenegrins. Greeks
arid Servians made war on the Turks to
wipe out the wrongs of centuries. They
were dreadfully old-fashioned.
•aks in Texas
Gentry m Dxa* ur
io Grande, famous in
i tiie rendezvous oi bad
napped by the United
survey, which has made
•iking topographic fea
miles northwest of Ter
dar area seven miles in
olitarigo. It is forihed of
rata of lime rock stand
edge and slanting in
taves of an inverted tub.
iterlor, though much high
djacent country, is still
below the encircling rim.
from this basin finds its
wo impassable narrow box
impossible to follow, even
courses of either of these
ne. Several volcanic necks
of quartz-capped buttes are
le basin. The highest point
leak on the southwest rim,
amed Fresno peak, says the
\ ess.
ature is the grand canyon of
inde, which has been given
the Canyon of Santa Helene,
box type with solid ptrpen
t wails. At the head of the
ie walls are 500 feet high, at
1500, showing a surface slant
upward, though down stream.
»ut high, dam would form a
es long and change the course
Grande, sending it across the
n three miles of Terlingua and
Valley of Terlingua creek. The
•esents picturesque possibilities
water storage.
The little known and thinly inhabited
hlsos mountains were sketched. Mount
Cmory, In the northeastern part of the
angc, is the highest point. It lias an
levation of 7860 feet above the Hats three
miles to the west. Dense growths of
oak and pine, luxurious grass and springs
of splendid water distinguish these moun
tains from the burning alkali flats by
which they are surrounded.
One map is devoted to the mountains
east of the Chlsos. an area of *J00 miles
square. The topography of the area con
sists of long parallel ridges. The area
Is little known and altogether uninhab
ited. It contains but one road, one trail
and one house, and that house unoccu
pied. and the only water Is contained in
the inaccessible canyon of the Rio Grande.
The Banana
Just because It is cheap and common
yes, hopelessly common—the banana In
this country Is too often neglected as an
agreeable and reglular article of diet. In
fact, It is hard to disassociate It with
unpleasant nights, colicky pains and a
general feeling of bored repulsion when
we brush up against the bunch as It
swings complacently in the doorway of
the. green grocer’s shop, says the Ladies
World. And all this unhappiness because
we <annot seem to realize that t^iere Is
anything else to do with the yellow
fruit, except to eat it raw, and then,
more than Ukely, green or over-ripe.
The banana is one of the few fruits
that contain distinct nutritive qualities.
It is really a "food fruit,” and from the
standpoint of its food value can he placed
In the same class wi\h potatoes, rice and
bread. In fact. Its composition Is almost
Identical with that of the potato, and
when properly prepared is equally diges
tible and nourishing, If not more so. Ba
nanas should not be eaten raw unless
thoroughly ripe, ripening being a process
similar to that of cooking. It softens
the fibre, makes the starchy part more
digestible and brings out the natural
flavor.
The chief source of nourishment fn the
banan Is carbo-hydrate, or starch. As
this particular food element furnishes
| heat and energy for the body, we can
look to the banana as a heat and energy
producing food, and as such glv# it a
place on our daily menu.