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MMH The Duty of John Shafton By Erskine H. Hamilton «Copyright, by Daily "Robert Daniels, Real Estate/' was on the sign displayed to the street, "Robert Daniels. Political Boss," would have been more in accordance | with t£e truth. For over this great city Robert Daniels was boss in politi cal matters. Occasionally one of the people would rebel against this con dition, but he was speedily made to re pent his imprudence. If he was ob »treperous he would be with." His business would be more reasoned or less obstructed; be would be sub )ected to many petty annoyances; and j if he continued refractory he would, i sooner or later, meet with bodily in Jury. Of course, Mr. Daniels—clean shaven and handsomely-dressed gen- j tleman that he was—knew nothing of | these persecutions. An election was coming on, and the outer apartments of Mr. Daniels' of flee was crowded with politicians. A small, gray-haired lady, dressed In black, entered. Mr. Daniels looked at her closely. There was something in the kindly old face that reminded him of his mother, long since dead. "Well, my dear lady, can I assist you in any way?" "Indeed, you can, Mr. Daniels," re plied his visitor, her face growing bright in her eagerness. "Do you know my son, John Shafton?" "What, the young attorney over on Twenty-third street?" "Yes, sir. Well, he is a candidate for nomination as district attorney. If you will only give him your influ ence, Mr. Daniels, I know that he will be placed on the ticket." The face of the Boss clouded. "I can't do that for you, Mrs. Shaf ton. The place has been promised to Martin Oswald. Your son has never rendered any particular service to the party, while Mr. Oswald is one of our best men." "But my John is so honest," plead ed the anxious mother. "He will make a good officer and do his duty. No one can buy John off, or bribe him so he will not do his duty." The Boss laughed heartily at the recommendation. The conceit rather pleased him. He watched the eager face before him, and looked at the toil-worn hands as they clasped and unclasped while she told how John had worked to get his education, how she had planned and saved to help him, and how they would lose their home unless he succeeded iu getting this office. Away back In the old home bis own mother had looKed something 'ike this one, and she had loved and planned for her boy, too. He was happy and Innocent then, but now—ivould that old mother, if she could look down and see him, approve of him now? ! I I J I I I I in ing "Madam," said the Boss gruffly, in terrupting his own thoughts, "you can tell John that he shall have the nom ination. "In the crowd that fill up the offices there shall be one honest man, anyway. Maybe," he added softly, "mj mother will know of this and be pleased." "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" ex claimed the excited woman, catching him by the hand. "May God bless you, Mr. Daniels!" "God knows I need it," was the curt reply. For some time after her departure the Boss walked the floor in moody silence. Then he summoned Martin Oswald. A little later a portly, well-dressed man came in. His face indicated a fondness for good dinners and good liquors. "I believe. Mr. Oswald," said the Boss, "it has been the understanding that you should have the nomination for district attorney." "That point was positively settled, Mr. Daniels." "Well, I have changed my mind, and you will have to take some other place. I have slated young Shafton as the party nominee for district at torney." "The devil you have? That hypo critical Sunday school chap—going to make him district attorney, are you? I'll see about that," sneered Oswald, his face white with anger. "Now, look here, Oswald," and the eyes of the Boss glinted with a steely look, "you know "what opposition to me means." And so John Shafton received the nomination and, in due time, was elected. His ambition was high. He viewed his position as a trust from the people, and believed it his bound en duty to protect them in their rights and to discover and punish wrong doers. His efforts in this direc tion produced uneasiness in certain quarters, and several influential con tractors and members of the city council called to see the Boss about I for and rest his It. "See here, Daniels, you'd better call oft that young Shafton," said Alder of a lite Sir Why He Did Not Ma-ry. As a reason for not marrying Brahms once wrote to a friend: "At the tiyne when 1 should have wished to marry, my compositions were either hissed at, or at any rate very coolly received. I knew their worth, though, and that sooner or later the page would be turned; and In un married solitude I never really took my reverses to heart. "But to be questioned by a wife nt such moments, to have her inquiring eyes anxiously fixed upon mo, to hear her ask: 'Again a fiasco?' "No, that could never have been borne. For, however, much she loved me and believed In me, I could not have expected her to have unwavering faith in my subsequent victory. And had she attempted to console me! Ugh! I can't even think of It. It would have been little less than hell!"— Monthly Review, ico the high the the the only the Long-1.Ivad Pension sr. Min Robb, wno has died In Edin burgh at the age of 94, bas been • na val pensioner for 93 years. 8S« was the posthumous child of Captain ftobb Daily Story Pub Co.) was man Driscoll angrily ■ He's too fresh in probin' Into things that's none of his business, and Is getting himself | Into trouble." trouble. ' said the Boss dryly, the same, or something will happen him re- some dark night." replied Driscoll ob with increasing warmth, "You mean he is getting you into "Well, you'd better stop him all the "I am glad you are so frank in your statements. Alderman." was the contemptuous answer. "Now listen. j I put John Shafton in the place he i holds because it pleased me, and be in- cause he is honest and will do his duty. I want him to do his duty, and j if harm comes to him on account of of | It one Tom Driscoll, and a lot of oth the of re to ! ers. will be railroaded to the peniten I tiary in mighty short order." The sneer on the face of the Bess changed to a softened expression after his visitors had left him. He walked to a little cabinet, unlocked it and took out an old-fashioned ambro* type. It was the picture of a kindly faced old lady, aud he looked at it long and intently, raising it reverent ly to his lips and kissing it several times. "Mother, dear, T'm not the kind of a man you wanted your boy to be— God knows that!" he murmured. *T ov< wish I had been different, but it's too late now. I will let this young attor ney do his best in unearthing the rot tenness in this city. Maybe, in his findings, he may reach me, and I shall go down with the others, and then—" It never occurred to John Shafton, in dealing with the various matters of his department, that he might possi bly bring trouble to Daniels. He was grateful to the Boss for his assistance In securing him ills position and often called to consult with him. A ring of bCodlers existed, he had proof of that, I but how far the ring extended, and J who were its members, he did not I know. He went to Mr. Daniels' office I and told him what he knew and of I what he suspected. I "Now, what would you advise me to do, Mr. Daniels?" he questioned. The Boss had listened in Bilence, and for a time he did not speak. His answer was in a voice that seemed strained and broken, "Young man, you have hold of a string of evidence that you think will discover something. Let me tell you that when you pull that string you will tumble over an edifice of rascal ity such as you never dreamed of. You ask me what you shall do? Do as your Christian mother would have you do. Do your duty, Shafton!" The advice was followed. The at torney went earnestly to work, and a mass of bribery and corruption was uncovered that startled the city. The grand jury was kept busy in making indictments, and many were the boodlers who left the city to avoid ar rest. One morning the district attor ney was seen to leave the grand jury room in a state of great excitement. Entering a carriage he was taken hur riedly to his home. "Oh, mother! mother!" he ex claimed, as he rushed into her pres ence. "The grand jury has indicted Daniels! What shall I do?" "I hardly know what to say—what your duty is," answered the mother in trembling voice. "This is so unex pected, and it is terrible. No matter what he has done, Mr. Daniels has a kind heart, and he has been your best friend, John. You had better go and see him." A sad, weary face greeted the young attorney as, an hour later, he entered the office of the Boss. "I knew you would come, John," he said with a faint smile. "The grand jury has indicted me, and you have come to tell me about it, and h»w much it has worrted you. mind, my boy. although you never dreamed of hurt ing me. I expected this, however." God helping me, I thought of injuring you—you, my best friend!" said John with trembling lips. tinder the circumstances, But never You did your duty, "No, never "Well, don't worry about It continued Mr. Daniels, kindly, "but In this envelope, which I wish you to take. Is my will. I have neither wife nor children, nor Is there anyone In this wide world who cares for me. now," listen to me. to I have given everything to In case any your mother and you. thing happens to me you will know what to do. Now, good-by, my boy, and may God help you always to do your duty." A few hours later, as the officers entered the office of the' Boss to ar rest him, they found him seated In his chair, a smile on his face, and seemingly looking at an old-fashioned ambrotype on the table -before him. They did not arrest him. He had gone home to his mother. of the royal navy, and was put on the state pension roll at birth. The most notable event of her long life was meeting with the great novelist. Sir Walter Scott. When Miss Robb was a girl at an Edinburgh boarding school she was taken to a concert. Noticing an old gentleman with a limp standing, unable to find a seat, the po lite little pupil at once offered him hers. She was cordially thanked, and afterward was informed that he was Sir Walter Scott put for the of the om. of Small Mexican Church. At Penon, Mexico, a suburb of Mex ico City, may be seen what is perhaps the smallest church In the world. It nestles under the shadow of a small volcano. TVie church Is about ten feet high and 12 feet wide. Whenever a couple Is married at the little altar of the church there Is barely room for the groom and bride to turn around at the same time. A Neglected Gams. Quoits as an outdoor pastime Is not only one of the oldest, bat also one of the most scientific of all outdoor games.—Fry's Magazine. Shah of Persia. •-. *. ■ .A-y f I fSM ft: mmm m A * i&j. L j V Ä ^ •ft i ' ®f|S & m ft e mfl ft ■ ' A - » V ft , " . /• ft ft »ft §§& * ' ■ *■* i) ■ MM,: 1 \/ V_vT V.. ft A;?] I'V ■ ' J s* ■ % If ■ m PPPm* ' ?ft* sHNn'-u * ft. v ft - ■ ■ » I . Mohammed-Ali-Mirza, whoae reign hat commenced with a teri-et of polit leal agitations. TOWN BORN OF SPITE. VERONA, ME., ONCE KNOWN AS ORPHAN'S ISLAND. Intended as a New England Metropo lis, But Plan of Promoters Failed —No Church or Post Of fice in Village. Verona, Me.—The intensely Yankee town of Verona, with its intensely Italian name, was born out of spite. Long before the English fleet sailed up the Penobscot river in the autumn of 1814 and laid Bangor under heavy tribute, the present town was known as Orphan's Island, and had been sur veyed and mapped out as the future metropolis of New England. A long bridge, cosfing many thou sands of dollars, was built to connect the island with Rueksport and paid for from the sales of a few choice lots near the center of the unborn city. The Wetmores and Heaths and Bowdoins and L'ridgeses, who were interested in ih plan, looked down on old John Jacob Astor i In finance, and thought thu rich men j I Later on it was discovered that the j drawing of expensive maps and the making of elaborate plans would not insure an immediate sale of real es tate. The promoters ran short of money and became plunged in debt. They appealed to Rueksport for help in repairing the great bridge. When their prayers w r ere not grant ed, out of spite they asked the legis lature for a town charter, and made joyful when the new town of Verona was born. The decline of weir fishing and shipbuilding nearly depopulated the island after the civil war, but recovery lias followed slowly through close at tention to agriculture. Though the town is seven miles long and nearly three miles wide at its bulge, though several of the residents are wealthy, neither as Orphans Island nor as Verona has there ever been a settled clergyman or lawyer or doctor on its area. There Is no church, and when a citizen dies he has to be taken across n&tenr an at Boston were beggars. vere WQOooocooooooQOooooeooooQocooeoooeceoQeeoaoGOooeoooaa THIS BOY CHEATS DEATH Youth Supposed to Be Fatally Shot | I Amazes Surgeons by Recovery. New York,—With eight perfora tions In his Intestines and the chance for life 100 to one against him, Frahk Garrison, 18 years old, walked a mile to a hospital, submitted to an operation from which there was virtually no hope of his emerging alive, and finally amazed the phy sicians who attended him by walking cut of the hospital the other day ap parently as sound and sturdy as he had ever been In his life. The sur geons say his Is one of the most re markable recoveries on record. Young Ga risen, who lives on West One Hundred and Thlrty-Blxth street, went hunting dock rats In the nelgh Baby Made of Tobacco . Ingenious Device for Smuggling Into France. Paris—'-Vhen a train arrived at the Lyons station from Marseilles a nurse stepped on the platform holding a baby, over whose face was a thick veil to protect It from the cold. The nurse carried the baby somewhat clumsily and her general gait was so awkward that M. Borders, the special customs officer deemed It his duty to put a few questions to her. He there fore Invited the nurse Into his office for a little talk. There he made the discovery that the nurse was carrying a queer kind of baby. It was contraband tobacco. The officer turned his attention from the box to the woman's opulent bos om. The dimensions made him sus picions. Its untisual fullness was ex plained by the fact that It was a de posit for tobacco. The nurse's hat, unusually big, was found to be full of cigars, and htr back hair, timed up the bridge to find burla. In a cemetery. There has never been a murder or any serious crime commit teed island since its first No post office has ever been placed on the charmed ground by a benevo lent. and paternal nation. No sheriffs ever cr serve legal instruments. No minister drops in to take supper worshipful parishioners. When a doctor from Rucksport rides through the neighborhood it creates as much of a sensation as a circus parade. If undertakers relied upon Verona for patronage they would go Into in solvency. It is a place where no barber's pole hangs out to allure customers. No book agent ever calls. the îttleinent. the bridge to with BABE IN INCUBATOR. Weighed Two Pounds at Birth, Four Months Before Time. j day a child which weighed at birth I bat two pounds. So light Jnd frail j waa the tiny piece of humanity when 11 was born that Dr. fllair, of Elina, Elma. Wash.— 1 There was horn to o wife of Milton Spurgeon the other the attending physician, in the ab sence of better facilities, ordered a chicken incubator immediately vided for the new-born babe, and that the child be placed in it at *t)nce and the temperature kept tX blood heat. With careful watching and attention the child has continued to live; it is kept dropped in a finest and softest of batting. Although the child was prematurely born, four months before its time, it now gives severy promise of living. It is not longer than a foot rule, and is Just able to make a noise when it cries. Its little hands, clinched, are not larger than ordinary marbles. Its breating is perceptible and reg ular, the high temperature that is maintained causes the little thing to perspire freely, mother of the child are living on a farm about three miles from Elma; the babe is their firstborn and is a girl. p ro The father aud !x»rhood of One Hundred and Twenty first street and the Hudson river. He was examining a gun when It was dis charged and Its entire load lodged In his abdomen. Strangely enough, the lad did not lose consciousness, hut realizing that I e needed medical attention without di lay, he shouldered his gun and picked his way painfully to a hospital, at Ono Hundred and Thirty-first street and Amsterdam avenue, a good mile's distance. For several days afterward the boy's condition was desperate and the physicians looked for his death at al most any moment. Then there came a sudden rally and from that mo ment the youthful patient steadily Improved. In a fine bunch was utilized as a hid ing place for fine tobacco. During so long a journey from Mar seilles to Paris the supposed baby required a bed. The two little mat tresses were examined and In them were found boxes of matches of for eign manufacture. There Is a heavy duty on the goods, which wer* seized. Allowances Necessary. "Why does marriage seem to dispel so much of the glamor of affection?" asked the sentimental young woman. "Well," answered Miss Cayenne, "perhaps a woman doesn't make suf ficient allowance. It must be very hard for a man to seem as graceful and heroic when advocating household economies as when he Is offering to lay the world at your feet." Bagdad's trouble Is the "Bagdad button," a sore that attacks practi cally every resident and visitor, and leaves a button shaped, permanent scar. WOMAN KILLS DRUNKEN SON As He Lay in Stupor—Drove Family From His Homo. Huntsville, Ala.—AnyoreU because her son-in-lawr, Frank Albright, had come home drunk and run the family away from home by his violent actions, Mrs. Mattie Connally killed the man bv shooting him with a shotgun as he lay in a drunken stupor The tragedy occurred in Marseille last night, and on the evidence secured by the coroner's jury Mrs. t'onnally beeu lodged In jail, and Charlie Shad rick, a 10-year-old boy, has been put in jail as an accessory. Albright was a merchant, a lout 30 years old. He was drunk in Huntsville when he violent. but the mother-in-law sent Shad rick to a neighbor's house for ammunition, with which she killed the drunken man. Mrs. Connally vorced from her husband, and is the mother of eleven children. She says Albright got what he hgj long deserved. bis bed. yesterday, and vent homo last uight ho was His wife and children lied, Mitai m*d an* is 45 years old; is dl BIG MUDDY IS THE MENACE The Missouri Keeps the Mississippi Choked With Impediments. is. The revival of the agita tion for deepening the channel of the Mississippi river between St. Louis ami the gulf to an extent that- will enable ocean steamers to touch at Sr. Louis ami open this port to the commerce of the world, lias produced many schemes for excavating the channel and keeping it excavated. Old river men familiar with the mighty Mississippi and the unstable yellow Missouri rivers declare the latter furnishes more sand than any other stream in the United States. This declaration is based on tlfo swiftness of the current and a comparatively nar • channel and the fact that the sand loured into the Mississippi from the Missouri is a constant menace to navi gation below the mouth of the latter, while above that point steamers ply comparatively free from danger of grounding on suddenly formed und un charted sand banks. digging a channel to deepen the Mississippi, opinions of various champions of the project, the channel of the Missouri river, even as far as 200 miles above St. Joseph, After the actual cutting of the St. L< or in the I xprvs'iuU 'cording to the diced in *ork should be eo. to Mo. river bed has b it a day's work gun should be done in the Mississippi until mattresses constructed of willows or lumber have been placed of the Missouri clear to its c the botti illuence vith the Mississippi. DEATH LiST OF THIRTY-FIVE From Wreck in California Shriners Suffer Heavily. Santa Barbara, Cal. Additional de tails of the wreck on the Southern Pa cific of the Shrinorn' Kpe.dal at Honda, a lonely station on the sand the Pacific coast, vastes of take the disaster >st appalling in the his tory of s'alifornia railroading. Thirty live live were snuffed out in a breath seriously injured ill more than likely ie of tin* to and that other deaths result. winy a is it a a While hurrying northward over the >f the Southern J'ucilic, •ward bound after a week of fra ternizing and fiesta in Lob Angeles, 145 Shrir.ersof Ismulia Temple of Buffalo and Iiujuh Temple of Heading, with their families and friends, were hurled into the midst of death, when their special train, running fifty miles an hour, struck a defective switch at Honda, derailing tin- train and smash The ll of waches into splinters. the tills afternoon and at Hi ten more are at Sun Luis Obispo. IV of wh< The are terribly bably die, are in two injured, hurt und will p sanitariums at Han Luis Obispo. ACCEPTS THE INVITATION. Ono Texan Shoots Another in Quar rel Over Politics. Hennessey, Okla. II. B. Morris, a Texan, in iu the Kingfisher jail us the rt'Milt of fatally shooting his roost inti mate friend, J. A. Tronc, also a Texan, in a hotel early this morning. Trone and Morris, discussing statesmen in Texas, quarreled regarding the recent investigation of Senator Bailey. Trone huil retired and was lying In bed, when Morris remarked that perhaps Tronc thought he was afraid to shoot him. The answer was that he knew Morris would not shoot his best friend, and stretching wide his arms, added, "shoot, if you want to." Morris immediately pulled the trig ger, the bullet penetratingTrone's right lung and going through his body. Kansas Mayor Ousted. Topeka, Kus.—The supreme court to day granted a writ to oust Peter Eber hardy, mayor of Leavenworth, from his office for failure to enforce the laws against saloons and other resorts. Assessment« Raised. Louisville, Ky. Assessment on the churches of the Methodist Episcopal Church, -South, for the church exten sion was raised 25 per cent, by the board of church extension, which fin ished its annual meeting last evening. This means that alxjut $175,000 will he collected from the Methodists for the present fiscal year, which ends Man h 31. 1908, whereas last year only $140,000 wa» raised. The fioard pledged itself to raise $50,000 for the building of churches in Oklahoma, the people to raise a similar amount. Family Held for Murder. Chattanooga, Tenn.—An entire fam ily is being held at the county jail to night, as the result of the killing of Joe McCormick, aged 10 years, by Da vid Pendleton, who gives his age at 10, but who appears to be not over fi. The boys were playing with pop guns, when the Pendleton boy, becoming worsted, ran to his home, secured & shotgun and shot his playmate dead. Mrs. Pendle ton xvho, with her four children, is being held, is alleged to have told her boy to shoot. This she denies. a of ber thu ^civs in a (ATrtJ Cl Needed Bank Legislation. Chancellor Percy Hell read a paper before the Mississippi Bar Association* in session at Vick Hank Legislation,' in tended that capital loss than 11*50,000 in in tow of shareholders. He a.ivised that in solvency for twelve months be con structive notice to the directory of in solvency in suits for money lost by fail ure. A condition of insolvency for six months should Ik* prima facie evidence of the knowledge of insol ploy es und officials. There should also Ik* a system of examinations of banks under the guidance of u State ct sioner of banking. The paper pr voked considerable d the member» opposing thu ju-oposod regulation Chief Justice WMtlieid. "Nr. .led •»V, which lie con : should not be ad Î1 10.000 . Ho believed in tile Habilite tic \ bv <*!» lis ssion, many of mg the lumber being The State's Crops. if trustees of the State The bo rd penitentiary reports the following crops planted on thu State's farms: Sunflower 3,000 acres in corn, 5,Oik) acres in cot ton, 50 acres in potatoes, 50 icres in •ghutn and peas, 10 in rice. Bui mont farm IKK) acres in cotton. 500 acres in corn, 10 acres in oats, 5 acres in sorghum and peas. Kankin farm •res in cotton, 5 s in potatoes, 20 acres in Louisiana cane. Oakley farm 450 acres in cot ton, 300 acres in corn, 5 acres iu pota toes, 40 acres iu oats. 600 acres in corn, 150 am The State's Cash. State Treasurer Mil lern* ports plenty rith considerable more to come in during the present month from privilege li censes. There is in round numbers of cash in the treasury vaults, ill be am $500,000 cash on hand, and pie funds to meet the 1333,333.33 re quired ti distributi make the June school fund without having to resort to the sale of bond«. Heavy Criminal Docket. The State docket of the attorney general shows that since the commence f the present term of the preino court in October, lbOH, upward of 130 appeals Incriminai or State case« ent have been bandied by the court, and of •e than 100 have the number decided been affirmed, docket that bus been This is the heaviest handled in many years. Corporation Charters. The figures represented by the char ters for new ments to old are authorized to increase their •orporations, or arnend •s by which the direct* tort capital stock, filed from Oct. 1, 1905, to the present date, amount in round num bers to the agmfieent total of $13, 2<H),000. Regular Waterspout. A terrific rainfall, a regular water spout, fell at Greenwood, whii.4t added to tin? great injury already done by the cold and wet weather to the crops. Some planters have already planted cotton the aecond time, and it Ih be lieved that a third planting will be •ssary in places. net Want Better Stations. The citizen» of Lexington and Can ton have importuned the commission to use its influence in order to help them in their efforts to get a suitable passenger station at each place. Good Road» in Lefioro. Through the efforts of Congressman Humphreys the government has agreed to furnish the machinery and to supervise the building of ono mile of burnt road in Leflore county, the coun ty to furnish the necessary fuel aud labor t.o make the experiment, Child Braided to Deuthu The little Di-months-old daughter of Dr. and Mr». W. J. Knox, of Ingomar, was fatally scalded by the overturning of a pot of water on the fireplace. The baby was playing in front of the fire, when the wood under the pot burned in two and threw the boiling across the child's lower limbs. if in •Xpert He Railroad at Pittsboro. Citizens of Plttsboro have organized a stock company to build a railroad from that place to Calhoun City, the terminus of the Okoiona branch of the Mobile and Ohio. Daughters of the Confederacy. The Mississippi division, Daughters of the Confederacy, held an unusually eventful and busy convention at Jack son, and adjourned to meet during the first week in May, 11)08, in Yazoo City. Windstorm at Vicksburg. A wind that reached the velocity of forty-eight miles per hour swept over Vicksburg, doing much damage. ing mer law No Election in Washington. The board of supervisors of Wash ington county refused to order a local option elect! asking for same did not boar a sufficient number of signatures. When the peti tion was filed it had the requisite num ber of names, but several signers with draw their names, thus defeating the petition. because the petition but size like a new soil Now Church. The Baptists of Columbus have de cided to build a new church to cost 130,000. Cropa in Holmes and Attala. The crop conditions in Holmes and Attala counties are discouraging. The excessive rains and cold weaih>r de stroyed almut all of the corn aud --otton previously planted, and on account of thu scarcity of good seed much of the land cacnot be replanted this year. Anti-Tuberculosis League. The Mississippi Antl-Tul«erculosIs League held a successful session of two days at Meridian, during which consid erable Interest was awakened In tbe purposes of the organization. was tion DUTIES OF BANK DIKECT0R9. 8ynopsis of a Paper Read by Hon. T. M. Henry Before the 8tate Baukera' Association. T. M. lift v, Auditor of Publie Ac counts of Mississippi, t< how» depart* mt State bunk« arc required to report nt least four times rlv. read the fob lowing paper at the Bank vting of the State Association, held at Gulfport, his subject being ' Duties of Dii tors— Their heading and Moral ibspunsibili Owing to the fact that the law a conta Mississippi .afegiianls for tlie protection of the bank's cupital or it- tlt'p.I'-ils, it lie,' id net «•w'kiuy that ci»c tl ■ utchful care ami u-t •r it» affui ut to least to l* fully as to its go larlv -, and at .1 Cl istantly informed nl purlieu hl'tlUM till- officer* iMitrustY'l ith ill executive manugei «• true t< their ti ing their duty, conscient iou*ly ud ith Iglc to its general t-lfim-. This they keep ri] a themselves ii close touch villi their hank, its set rge ex ». These tlie pat a reasonable l ight ith it» pain ive more the to ex poet It is w id to (lei iml. ell recognized much of the busi es« of the hank ill fact, the greater comes through the personal in fluence of the directors, individually or as a whole, and they correspondingly owe moral duty that h 5 •itch patrons during lit y b» neglect, or to lullf hearted, perfunc >n criminal perform inner. The directors should Is- the entinel on the valch I er, with enough interest in und knowledge of the hunk's uheirs to ut once detect the first approach of dan - ith suifieient courage to t lid nmptlv pivr the 'ttining Hi if ï ni I when ppnmehtiitf, or even threatens, and hy extra cure mid vigilance to j>re ppnmeh, to auch an extent at leuat us to endanger the •olvency of the institution. U i duty, and no vert n po»niblc ho I ■ lightly viewing it should lie ■leeted therefor. Probity «»f character d buftinefla qunl Bloat ions have more weight in their any possible amount may be willing This above jilftl critic should •lection than f stock director« nd able to subscribe for. principle, even niMtsurahly rocog ized and honestly lived up I hank and the respect and confidence of the community. Without it no instituthm long aud enduring prosper * it. ill in sure fur hu ti.M factory it). ml would not dc The last dace for dro ' or for a d busino-H is the di f a bunk, for there lie in hnn tiling not only h ml that s is the ctiMii in ot her iduws and trust hinds of the most »acred ids, fi d trusting friends, vocation*, but th c of ehanii'ler, and ol'tc . Ho ea including till they ot know they o 1 est ly dealt ith or judiciously handled i tin nit. a personal kno portant details. Among his first duties should In- that, of duly informing himself, and thereafter of keeping him self informed- -not looking on the presi shior ns responsible for every ledge of at least the i dent and thing. ptroller Hidgcly, of the I'nited ry, bellows that if hoards of dirwtor» would only half way do t heir duly there would be a *j>«edy ending of "such midden and sensational failures of bank», looted from the irmide hy men who have stood high in their communi ties and have been thought to he models of honesty and trustworthiness." If this in ho important under a system of regu lar examinations, In it hee ( I Slat. does urn: !• * In the total absence of •i. : A direct« nlinulil lie liât tlx* name implies a director, in far! ; and one w ho i* willing to be controlled by tlie will of tin* majority, and for the interest <»f tin* whole. He should at least assist in con trolling and dirooting the general affair» of his banks. He cannot do this, totally ignorant of its conditions. Yon might as well try to run He should also be on the alert for new, desirable business, not leaving this im portant function, as Is too often the cane, solely to the officers actually in charge. They can accomplish in licit hot: ter results when given this reasonable • by their boards. per «are on the part of direc tor* and a reasonable exercise of their »hare of the responsibility with that of the president and cashier, bank failures would well-nigh lx* a thing of the past, if not entirely so. Banks do not become insolvent, or men thieves or defaulters/ in a day, or a week, or a month, but., like the corroding things in the physical life, eoines from a slow', cankerous growth, hardly perceptible at first, lie ginning with carelessness, indifference or the lack of knowledge and watchfulness part of directors—no intention or desire existing originally to wreck the bank engine without «team. He I With -riniialy injure it, Diseov •d in time, ns they ensily cun In-, Ir regularities or peeulations could 1* cor reeled with smnll or yio loss to anyone. The old aflnge, "a stitch in time saves nine," applies perhaps with more force ornl cogency to the banking business than to nny other avocation, and cer tainly fesired end fully attained, it enn ho closely ap proached, und without great effort on the part of unyone. Too ninny directors nre prone to look upon their offices us purely honorary ones, acting ns if they felt that when their stock is pnid for the chief and nrin clpal business thereafter is to regularly participate in the dividends, and they always expect large ones, learning to de pend too much on and to place to.) much authority in the president and cashier end other ne re willing directors for the d complete management of the bunk, alertly transferring their duties entirely to these officers, too often plac ing it on the shoulders of the two for mer ones -frequently overloading them— overlooking the fact that such a trans ference is countenanced hy neither goo-1 law nor correct morals. While this much h so. -d not be expected to be full A director with such false, slip shod Ideas is of little value to any institution, but oftener, and most generally, is a distinct disadvantage, regardless of the size of his holdings—the exceptions, In rare cases, only proving the rule, 1 have often wondered why the hanks, like other enterprising avocations de pendent on the general public, did not to a greater extent devise some kind of personal solicitation system to work up new business, and in tny younger days have thought it possibly duo to the fact that they had hII the business wanted, soil only desired an increase in the kind that took the trouble to "hunt them up." it is thought that the game of whist was first played In the time of King Henry VIII of England. You raunet improve your own rtputa* tion by belittling that of others.