The St. Mary banner., July 16, 1910, Image 7

About The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931

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The House of Lords
By B. B. Valentina
0 HOSE who discourse learnedly on the present revolut:
crisis in Great Britain and the limitation of the veto o! t
Lords seem to have forgotten that the House of Lords w
abolished in February, 1C19, as "useless and dangerous u\
what was known as the "Kamp Parliament."
For similar reasons it abolished the office of King. AH
members of the House of Commons, with those who held
any civil or military office, were required to swear all.'g
iance to the Commonwealth "without King or House of
Lords." A new great seal was adopted having on one side a map of Lag
land and Ireland, on the other a representation of the House of Commons in
eesson, with the words "In the first year of freedom, by God's blessing re
stored."
The greatest Englishman, Cromwell, did all these things. The end certain
ly justified a rod of iron. It w r as the only way in those troublous times alter
the tyrant Charles I. was beheaded. The country got along very well without
the Lords for ten years under Protector Cromwell, and it can do it now.
Since the reactionary Charles II.. who came to the throne in ICC", the
House of Lords has proved to be "useless and dangerous," and is more so
than ever today. Its elimination as a factor of legislation in the near future
is inevitable.
Y
Some Dangers
From High Prices
By Elizabeth. Heives
*
|j '
J -
H
VERY one is talking high prices. But my topic is different.
1 wish to talk not on the high prices themselves, but on their
E Ö dangers, the chief dangers being, of course, to that trunk
<0> class of a nation, the small-salaried man, the clerk, the sliop
(O, girl. The present high prices are affecting this class in two
ways; first, they are tending to force them down rather
A? than up in the social scale; second, they are putting them
to such stress that they are tending to become .an underfed
class, under-nourished, and certainly the danger of having
the great trunk class of a nation under-nourished cannot be overrated.
Well, I don't pretend to know the causes of high prices, but this I do know:
that I am today paying 8 cents more for my steak, 7 cents more for eggs, 7
cents more for butter than I was last year; that a better class of people than
heretofore Is beginning to try and evade the compulsory education law, and
that certain shop-girls whom I know have reduced their lunches from chicken
on toast with rice border to an eclair and a cup of coffee. In other words,
our great, prosperous (?) country stands at the parting of the ways. A little
more, and you will have the trunk class of America an underfed class, being
slowly but surely forced down in the social scale. The laboring man, the
miner, the servant girl (who are being paid more) will force their children up
into the clerk' class only to have their children stick there or return to them.
This would no longer be American.
This that I say is true, and it seems to me to merit the attention of all
thoughtful Americans who care for their country.—American Magazine.
JZ>
The Cost of Living
By Stewart Erowne
T does not require a Congressional investigation to discover
the causes for "increased cost of living," as they speak for
themselves.
The population of the United States has increased 25
per cent, in the last ten years, and the following is the in
crease in the quantity of foodstuffs during the same period.
Corn, 20 per cent.; wheat 20 per cent.; oats, 10 per cent.;
barley, 100 per cent.; rye, 15 per cent.; buckwheat, 0 per
cent.; sheep, 40 per cent.; cattle, 2 per cent.; herse-s, 1 per
cent.; butter, 350 per cent.; cheese, 0 per cent, and milk, 330 per cent.
The production of foodstuffs has not kept pace with the increase in popu
lation; that is the basic cause for the increased cost of living.
The second cause is that the earning power of the people during the same
period has increased 25 per cent, which means a greater demand from them
for foodstuffs and a greater number who are filling to pay higher prices, hav
inv the wherewith so to do.
The third cause is that all beef and poultry is controlled absolutely by
the packers, who, finding that the quantity does not keep pace with the in
creasing population and that the people have more- mon «y to spend, force the
prices up to the utmost limit that the people are willing to pay.
The fourth cause is cold storage. Destroy cold storage and the third cause
ipould fall with it. Cold storage, as practiced in the United States, is unnec
essary, harmful to the stomachs of the people and injurious to their pockets.
Cold storage is unknown in Europe, and if Europe can get along without it
the United States can. The packers and cold storage exploit the appetites of
the nation for the benefit of the packers' pockets.
"Leaving the farm" for the "lure of the city" is caused by universal edu
cation making the younger generation above their business. "Back to the
farm," if it ever happens, which is doubtful, will never happen until the empty
stomachs of the people force them there.
Possibly chemistry may produce a substitute for natural foodstuffs, but
until "back to the farm" becomes a reality or chemistry produces a substitute
foodstuffs must increase in price.
Increased gold production has nothing to do with "increased prices," and
the tariff has very little.
Power House Accident.
A curious accident occurred at the
No. 3 power house of the Niagara
Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufac
turing company on Sunday afternoon,
July 25th, by which two employes
W#re injured. The casing of one of
the new 10,000 horsepower turbines
burst and a large piece of casting
was thrown across the station, which
W»s partly flooded by the outrush or
water. The turbine was under the
normal head of about 165 feet of wa
ter, but had been tested to a much
ligher pressure.—Scientific American.
Useful and Ornamental.
Gillis—Great Scott, man! What do
you call that thing?
Willis—We decided at our house
this year that we would give only use
ful presents, and this Is the beaatl
fui, embroidered, hand-painted snow
shovel that my wife gave me.—PiNk.
A shovel with high, sharp sides and
with a hinged blade that lifta away
from the freut, has been patented by
a New Jersey resident to cut and lift
soda
THE FLEA IS THE CHAMPION ÏÏURDE
PT7~> '
ilikt
Causes More Deaths Each Year Than All
Reptiles and Beasts.
"If some one were to tell you of a
creature covered with a heavy armor
of horn and provided with two large,
triangular slashing weapons in addi
! tion to two lances and a very sharp
stiletto, having the longest arid most
- powerful hind legs of any being in ex
J istence, so strong and powerful that
j the animal could jump 50i> times its
j own length, and if you were to be
further told that this creature was
j abroad upon the face of the earth to
j day, causing more deaths annually
than all the venomous reptiles and
; ferocious beasts in the world, would
I you not imagine that the narrator
; was the victim of hallucinations far
1 outclassing those of the most habit
! uated pipe dreamer?" asks William
! Colby Rucker, in the Technical World
Magazine. Hr. Rucker is a passed
assistant surgeon in the* United States
; Public Health and Marine Hospital
j service.
I "Yet," he continues, "such a crea
ture does exist, and in many varying
: forms is found in almost every quar
ter of the globe and upon practically
every animal having a hairy coat. ' It
! is only in recent years, however, that
this insect, the flea—there, the secret
ia out—has excited anything more
ban a natural curiosity on the part
tlie scientists who desire to know
and catalogue every living thing upon
the surface of the earth.
"Almost every animal having a
j
j
. , . , , . . ,
coat of hair has Ins own particular j
variety of flea. In other words, fleas
vary with tlieir host; but one host
may harbor six different species of
fleas, or one. species may occupy six
different hosts. In general it may be
said, however, that each flea hearing
animal has its own choice stock with
in its flea preserves. For example,
man elects the Pulex irritans (paren
thetically it may he noted that this
species is also chosen by the skunk
and the hog); the dog, the Ctenoce
phalus canis, while the mouse has a
little blind flea of its own.
Family Peculiarities.
"The Ceratophyllus fasciatus, the
common rat flea of the United States,
has ,a collar of heavy spikes about its
neck, giving it the appearance of a
Fifth avenue bulldog; the Ctenopsyl
lus musculi, the mouse flea, is blind:
the Ctenocephalus canis has a large
i cavalryman mustache of heavy
spines; the Pulex irritans is globular
; in shape and has no collar at all,
I while the rabbit's affinity, the Hoplop
i syllus affinus, has two heavy clasping
plates resembling a pair of ice tongs
with which he anchors himself to his
victim.
"The flea has an oval body which
; is flattened to permit easy progress
through the hair of its host. It is as
: though this insect had been literally
narrowed so that it might move with
ease in tlie hairy forest which it in
habits. It is covered, armedillolike,
with heavy plates of chitin laid on
like the shingles of a house. This
chitin is a hard, hornlike substance
which Is insolubale in acids, and is
dissolved only by strong alkaline so
lutions. We thus see that the insect
has been provided by nature with an
almost impregnable defensive armor.
"At the points where the plates
j overlap are the openings of the re
i spiratory apparatus, and it is through
j these that the flea breathes. These
j are twenty-four in number and are
j the only vulnerable points on the in
' sect. In fact, almost the only way to
! kill fleas, if we except crushing and
; starvation, is by means of fine, moist
i lust such as buhach, which clogs the
; respiratory orifices, or by poisonous
1 gases.
Smells with "Pygidimn."
"Fitted over the tail like a saddle
and protected by an innumerable
! number of fine bristles is the organ
! of smell, the pygidium. This is
' roughly triangular in shape and con
I sists of a platelike structure having
a number of sensory pits which look
as though hey had been punched out.
Immediately below this plate is a
large respiratory opening which takes
the place of a nostril. The air pass
ing over the pygidium to this opening
irritates the fine bristles, thus trans
mitting the sensation of smell. This
organ is very necessary to the flea
on account of the almost utter lack
of tactile sense, and he depends very
largely upon it in hunting for food.
"In common with the rest of the
animaf world. If we except mankind,
the male Is much more adorned than
its better half, who is modestly ar
rayed In a neatly fitting suit of brown
armor. The ladies are inclined to be
petite, being perhaps three-fourths
the size of the stronger sex. They
far outnumber the latter, however,
and hence in courtship the male as
sumes the passive role in a very lord
ly manner. With absolute lapk of
gallantry he ignores the other sex,
who must seek his society if she
wishes a mate. It is very amusing te
watch the efforts of a flrtatious flea
U> capture a beau, but having çjgce
a i seized hold of him, she cuddies dose
j ly in his embrace, entangling her
| self in a determined manner in his
pines.
be
It
a
"The flea's head is armed with nr
elaborate biting apparatus which acts
both as a weapon of offence and £
means of securing food. On eithei
side is a large triangular anchoi
which firmly grasps the skin of the
victim and enables the insect to ef
fectually insert the piercing organs.
These consist of two lances each hav
ing a sharp spear shaped head below
which is a series of saw teeth. Be
tween and above them is a sharp sty
let. In isiting, all three are inserted
simultaneously, the saws working
hack and forth until a gpod opening
is made and a flow of blood is started
As a Source of Banger.
"Many of the fleas have the dis
gusting habit of depositing their ex
creta at tlie same time they secure
their meal. The human Ilea is the
worst mannered in this particular,
and it is well established that'it is
in this way lie infects his victim with
bubonic plague. Having eaten pre
viously from a plague stricken an
imal, he has taken into himself a
very large number of "pest bacteria.
These have been frequently found in
the dejecta of the flea, and may lip de
j posited upon the skin of a healthy
j victim who subsequently rubs the ir
ritated parts. The bacilli are thus
j force;1 jnto the minute rounds made
by the flea, inoculating the victim!
a
with diseuse. This is not a mattei
of scientific speculation, hut has beer
thoroughly proved by accurate and
painstaking experiments in manj
parts of the world.
"The flea is provided with six leg?
arranged in three pairs, which be
come progressively longer as you go
aft. There is nothing very remark
able about the first two pairs, hut the
hind legs are the largest, longest and
most powerful in proportion to the
size and weight of the insect of any
in the entire animal kingdom. The
propulsive apparatus of the kangaroo
is, in comparison, but a pitiful imita
tion. Provided with enormous hams
and with feet armed with claws work
ing on the principle of a cant-hook,
they are able to leap in a manner cal
culated to make the most bemedalled
track athlete green with envy.
"The American amateur indoor
standing broad jump record is 15
inches was made by a fair co-ed after
fasting four days. The running high,
7 94 inches, is also held by Miss Pulex
Irritans. This family has representa
tives in all of the colleges of the Pa
cific Coast. Figuring on this basis
in proportion to weight and body
length, a man would he able to jump
over an office building 16S stories
high, and in making such a leap
would traverse over three-fifths of a
mile.
Tlieir Taste in Hues.
"The question of the individual
preference of fleas for persons has re
ceived careful study. It is the popu
lar belief that fleas prefer blondes
to brunettes and women to men, hut
it has not been possible to prove this
experimentally. Certain it is that
they are equally disposed to black or
white guinea pigs and several negroes
are known whom the fleas use as a
veritable haven. Cleanliness does not
seem to he a bar to them; in fact,
there seems to be some reason for
the belief that they prefer cleanly
persons to those to whom the bath
tub is unknown.
"There is still a vast amount of
work to he done upon the interesting
flea and much time and money have
to he spent in the study of it. The
British in India and Australia, the
French in their Chinese provinces and
the Americans on the Pacific Coast
are all seeking after knowledge re
garding this enemy to mankind, and
it may not be long before the results
achieved by these various agencies
will enable us to destroy forever this
persistent disseminator of pestilence
and death."
Demand For Servants.
During the last thirty years the
demand for servants has doubled,
while the supply has increased only
by half—in the last decade only by
five per cent. In 1870 there was one
to every twelve; even in the recent
crisis, when the cities were filled with
unemployed, the demand still outran
the supply. And yet, during the
thirty years past, the number of self
supporting women—that is, the
actual labor market—has more than
trebled. Forty years ago a woman
thrown upon her own resources would
tend to select housework for a living;
in fact, one woman in two did so se
lect. Thirty years ago only every
third woman entered domestic ser
vice. Ten years ago only one in four
rapped at the kitchen door. The
other three applied—where? Every
one knows; at the shop, the factory,
'
Sarsaparilla
Leads all other medicines in
the cure of all spring ailments,
humors, loss of appetite,
tired feeling, paleness and
nervousness. Take it.
CPA it today in liquid form or in tab
lets known as Sarsatnt»«. l ft 0 doses $1.
>^C<X)OOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOO<
B uy "Battle Axe" Shoes
Biliousness
"I have used your valuable C&scarets
and I find them perfect. Couldn't do
without them. I have used them fot
some time for indigestion and biliousnesa
ami am now completely cured. Recom
mend them to everyone. Once tried, you
will never be without them in the
family."— Edward A. Marx, Albany, N.Y.
Pleasant. Palatable. Potent. Taste Good.
Do Good. Never Sicken.Weaken or Gripe.
10c,25c. 50c. Never sold In bulk. The gen
uine tablet stamped C C C. Guaranteed to
cure or your mon ey back.
Every time we see a sponge it re
minds us cf some men we know.
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
So Weak From Kidney Trouble He
Could Hardly Stand.
John McKay Williams, Bedford
City, Va., says: "For two months I
suffered from sharp pains across the
small of my back
and I became so
weak I could hard
ly stand. I lost
flesh rapidly and
was becoming wor
ried. I fortunately
decided to try
Doan's Kic'ney
Pills. I began tak
ing them and be
fore long every symptom of the trou
ble disappeared. I have had no re
turn of it up to now."
Remember the name—Doan's. For
sale by all dealers. 50 cents a box.
Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo, N. Y.
NOT ENOUGH.
v
He—"But I have admitted that 1
was wrong. Isn't that enough?"
She—"No. You must also admil
that I was right"—Pick-Me-Up.
A CERTAINTY.
"There's one thing we will have to
ohan.ee if these ladies who wish to
vote have their way," said Senator
Sorghum
"What is that?" '
"We'll have to quit talking about
'the wisdom of the plain people.'"—
Washington Star
are you not
a^ked the
FOREARMED
"With all your wealth
afraid of the proletariat?
delver in sociological problems.
"No, I ain't!" snapped Mrs. New
ri h "Wo boil all our drinkin* wa
tcT."—Philadelphia Record.
Tcoifortand
New Strength
A wait' tlie'person who discovers
that a long train of coffee ails.can
he thrown off by,Using
POSTUM
inplace.of Coffee
comet—
.ffioffee'aai
in.ctfffee.'
POSTUM