Willmar tribune. [volume], May 10, 1911, Image 7

About Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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NLY seven Americans
killed."
Only seven! Not
enough to matter. At
least thiBwas the naive
explanation given In
the news dispatches on
the eighth of last Octo
ber for telling so little
about the explosion in
the Starkville coal
mine, when fifty-five
men were killed. As
/or the other forty
tight, they were igno
rant foreigners, and ap
parently did not count.
And yet, out of that
coal mine was carried
a charred, disfig
ured body, one of
he forty-eight,
which lay, twisted
from the death*
pain, in the bright
sunshine. "John
Cysz, a Pole, some
one said, and a
woman, who had
watched three de
spairing days and
nights, raised her
bony fists against
the serene, far
a a sky, and
went mad.
Turning from
the horror before
a he ran
shrieking down
the mountain side,
and another wom
an, who caught
the fixed stare of
her eyes, aban
doned her children
in pursuit.
The clumsy race
turned down the
dry canon and
ended in one of
those forlorn little
settlements that
mark a coal mine
the world over.
The Polish woman
In the lead burst into her cabin, and, seizing a
revolver, rushed at her terrified children, bu*, be
fore she could shoot, her arms were seized trom
Denind. The struggle was short and decisive,
une plunge backward across the pounded dirt
floor and the second woman staggered to one
side, panting, with the revolver safe in her haiid.
Just at that dramatic moment the body of nor
own husband was being carried to the surfacw.
This was a mere incident, almost lost in thw
stupefaction following a local calamity. But it
serves as a meaningful introduction to a splen
did example of the kind of occurrence which has
doubled the number of men killed in our coal
mines in the last ten years.
The Starkville mine is an average American
coal mine. The last annual report before the ex
plosion showed that the mine had cleared $500,
000 in the previous year, it pointed out that the
property was yielding handsome returns on the
investment, but it did not mention the fact that
the mine was so dusty a new air-shaft was sore
ly needed. The air-shaft would have cost $10,000,
and the management decided against it. Unfor
tunately, there was no one in the state of Colo
rado to make the company sink it.
One-fiftieth of the year's earnings was too
much to make the mine reasonably safe! Re
sult, fifty-five dead, thirty-two widows thrown
upon the world, and almost a hundred children
fatherless. They formed an important addition
to the year's total from the coal mines of more
than seven thousand killed and injured, fifteen
hundred widowed, and four thousand children de
pendent on Ignorant and helpless women.
BY BEN MELLON
Officially these men were killed by an explo
sion of the coal dust, but they were really killed
by greed. It is the same with all mine disasters.
You can find volume after volume on the causes,
but, sift them to the bottom, and in more than
three-fourths of the cases you will find that spirit
of, "Get out the coal, never mind how many men
you kill, but get out the coal." As ex-Governor
Dawson of West Virginia once exclaimed In ex
asperation, "There are coal companies which
have no regard whatever for human life."
This explains why there are killed in certain
sections of the naturally not unsafe bituminous
coal fields of Pennsylvania and West Virginia
twelve times as many men in comparison to the
number employed as In the highly dangerous
coal mines of Belgium. For in this one section
alone, from killing six out of every thousand in
1900, by 1908, when the last reliable figures were
obtained, the annual death roll had increased
to more than twelve.
The truth is that men are ruthlessly killed in
our coal fields because the coal operators find It
less expensive to repair damage than take pre
cautions. The human cost they do not take the
trouble to figure because, to them, there is none.
To kill miners, entails no financial loss. In the
Pittsburg district, even in the big notorious ex
plosions of recent years, the average cost to the
operating companies has been less than $50 for
every man dead.
"You musn't blame the mine operators," an Im
portant government official apologized, when the
blame was laid at their doors. "It isn't their
fault They are doing all they can."
You need only turn to the government's own
reports to see the fallacy of such a statement
The increase In mine disasters became so marked
about five years ago thai It even attracted the at
tention of the geological survey, more a scientific
than a humanitarian organization, and two men,
Clareneo Hall and Walter Snelling, were detailed
to study the situation here and abroad. They
found the contrast to be almost unbelievable. It
is summarised in these few sentences:
"In spite of all the natural conditions tending
to reduce the percentage of mine disasters in the
United States to a low figure, the accidents dur
ing the last fifteen years have shown directly
contrary results. Considered In regard to the
Two negroes had been called up be
fore their employer because they had
had a fight about money. Abraham
Jones claimed-that Thomas Short owed
him five dollars. This Short denied in
the most vehement manner, calling on
all powers, of heaven to strike him
dead If he owed Jones a cent.
"I's done loan dat niggnh live dol
lars," protested Abraham.
"He ataf done wrtbin* ot de kta*r
A New Kind of Loan
rate, whereas every other country is showing a
decrease."
They pointed out that the European mines are
deep and beset with many dangers we are not
troubled with, while our mines are easy and
should be safe to work, because the veins are
large and thick and run horizontally. And yet they
showed where we kill four times as many men as
France.
This is the condition of our comparatively safe
mines of today, but, as they showed, we are now
beginning for the first time in the history of coal
mining in this country to open.veins that are real
ly dangerous. We are on the very threshold of a
new and far more hazardous period in coal mining,
and, unless we take active measures, we are going
to have a series of mine explosions which will
appal us—even If there are no Americans killed.
Out of the report they made has grown the
Pittsburg testing station of the department of
mines, which is now taking up the most serious
cause of mine explosions—electricity. There would
be no objection to electricity under proper condi
tions, but the difficulty with it at the present time
is that the electrical machinery sparks. In a
gaseous or dusty mine, given the right conditions,
and it needs only a spark to kill every man in it
It should be used only in mines where there is no
chance of the accumulation of gas but, in point
of fact, it has been adopted most generally by thy
mine operators of the "gas belt" of Western Penn*
sylvania and West Virginia. In all that countrjC
there is never any telling where gas will be struck
next and the cutting machines, which work ahead
and are most likely to open gas pockets, are oper
ated by electric dynamos which are constantly "at
the face" of the coal. Formerly it was the rule
and in some states the law to bore ahead and test
for gas pockets, but with the modern electric cut
ting machines all such precautions are out of the
question.
The case against electricity, when used for pow
er, is the most serious consideration in the whole
of the coal mining situation, because it has made
coal production cheaper, and, on that account, no
matter how many deaths it causes, it would be
extremely difficult to drive it out of the dangerous
coal fields. The saving averages about three
cents a ton, but here is an instance of the lengths
to which operators have gone to make that miser
able profit:, When the dangers from electricity
began to be understood, its use was permitted only
in mines where open lights were safe. So the op
erators, to dodge the law, tore out their covered
lights and sent men into gaseous mines with flam
ing torches in their hats. Then, until some terrlflo
accident happened, the mine inspectors were si
lenced.
Perhaps we are not to blame the coal operators
for reducing the cost of production to the lowest
possible point but when they do so at the present
tremendous cost of human life, it is high time they
feel the stern hand of regulation. So far, however,
they have always been able to prevent the real
cause of some of the worst disasters being laid to
electricity. A definite cause, in any event, is an
abhorrence to them. For, if the blame can be
placed on the operating machinery of a mine, it
opens the way to damage suits, a contingency the
coal operators are adepts at escaping.
This whole situation was never better shown
than in the terrific disaster at Monongah No. 8, in
West Virginia, which had the longest death list
In the history of American coal mining. The acci
dent occurred on December 6, 1907, immediately
after a trip of fifteen loaded mine cars, liberated
by the breaking of an iron coupling pin, had run
back twelve hundred feet on an eight per cent
grade, raising a thick cloud of dust and ending by
causing a short circuit in the electric current But,
when ft came to fixing the cause, electricity was
hardly considered, a fact that is particularly note
worthy, as the decision was severely criticized aft
erwards in engineering journals.
This colloquy kept up for several
minutes. Finally the employer de
cided that Jones had loaned the five
dollars to Short
"What do yon mean by lying to me
in this way?" he demanded sternly of
Short
"Well, bosay explained Short "yon
see It was like dls: Abraham he done
loan me dat five dollars, but It was a
loan In de way of a gjf*."—Popular
Testimony that tended to prove that electricity
COPYRIGHT BV
PEARSON PUB CO
number of deaths per
thousand men em
ployed, the United
States occupies a less
favorable position
than any other of the
coal-producing coun
tries, more than three
times as many men
out of every thousand
being killed as In
some of the European
countries which are
much less favored by
natural conditions.
In regard to deaths
per thousand tons of
coal the United States
not only occupies a
position worse than
most of the European
countries, but it is
also showing an in
crease in the death
Why are palls of sand kept hanging
in some buildings? It Is the usual
thing to see hanging in large build
ings, museums, factories, offices—rows
Of palls containing a liquid, which can
be used for extinguishing the flames
in case of fire. It is quite common
nowadays to see also a pall of sand
hanging with the others or In a place
by Itself. This sand is for use in case
of fire caused by an accident to the
Idleatjlp wires, bringing abort what it
ALL THe-MEtl FXCePT TWO,~HMOUV£0IN TMIS ROW OT//OfJTf n&tJf-K/UtDWOHeBfottJoH
was to blame came out at the hearing, but was ig
nored. Fire Boss Trader at No. 6, in which the cars
ended the run, said that twice before there had been
runaways, and on each occasion fires had been
started in the coal dust, but had been extinguished
before they spreda. And Blacksmith Jenkins, figur
ing the time between the passage of the cars and
the moment of explosion, showed that between the
short circuit and the explosion there had been at
least a remarkable coincidence.
There were 362 men killed in that disaster, and,
if the cause bad been fixed on electricity, the own
ers might have been forced to pay $1,800 a man.
like the owners of the Cherry Hill mine, who faced a
public Opinion outraged at the thought of men be*
ing sealed alive in a burning mine. As it was, they
got off by contributing $20,000 to be added to the
public relief fund of $149,000. So, instead of $1,800,
each man cost only $55.25.
Electricity was also not blamed in the case of
the Marianna disaster of November 28, 1908, when
154 men lost their lives but, after the public inter
est had blown over, the use of electricity was aban
doned at the suggestion of the department of mines
and compressed air replaced in its stead. This
might appear to indicate a guilty knowledge of the
real cause.
As a matter of fact the owners of the mine, the
Pittsburg-Buffalo Company, had already had warn
ing that all was not r"ght In the Marianna. On Au
gust 12, more than two months before the big ex
plosion, there was a smaller explosion which result
ed in the death of one man and serious injury to
two others and Alderman A. R. Day, of Mononga
hela, before whom the preliminary hearing took
place, found that the accident had been due to elec
tricity.. William Underwood, foreman in charge of
the mine, was arrested on information filed by State
Mine Inspector John F. Bell, on a charge of permit
ting "the use of spark-throwing machinery in that
part of the mine where only safety lamps are al
lowed."
The Pittsburg-Buffalo Company repeatedly denied
the fact of this accident, but the report of the state
department of nines for 1908 contains an account
of the accident
Now that the United States government has
recognized the danger of electricity, it has taken
the position that it would be blocking progress to
prevent its use. So it has set about solving the
problem in a way that will bring final relief, but
this will not prevent the death of thoulands of men,
who will lose their lives on account of electricity be
tween now and the time when safely devices are
invented. It is impossible to fix an exact number,
but probably no less than five hundred have come
to their death through unsafe electric apparatus in
the past year, the length of time the government
has been at work on the problem.
In March, 1910, the federal department of mines
sent word to all manufacturers of electric mining'
apparatus that H. H. Clark, an engineer, had been
placed in charge of the work at the Pittsburg test
ing station and was ready to stamp the seal of gov
ernment approval on all electric mining machinery
that did not spark but nine months later he had
not yet discovered a single piece of electric appara
tus which met the requirements. Just consider that
for a moment. Even with all the Improvements
which have been made to electric apparatus, safety
is as far off as ever.
But what is to be done? It is objected that you
can't stop nine-tenths of the mines from operating
until they are made safe. And yet, if they are per
mitted to go ahead as at present, they are absolute
ly certain to kill from 2,000 to 5,000 men before safe
apparatus Is devised and Installed.
Are those 5,000 lives to be sacrificed? Is nothing
to be done meanwhile? Apparently not
If those 5,000 men were in one mine and abso
lutely certain to meet death there unless the elec
tric apparatus were torn out the situation would be
dramatic, public opinion would be aroused, and some
thing quite effectual would be done. The real need
is no less Insistent If, then, it would not be absurd
to demand immediate action in the one case, it is
not in the other.
But, it is objected again, it would interfere with
business, it would be too expensive, impossible.
Money, then, has more rights than humanity. Money
must be saved at any cost to men. And these 6,000
must die because it would be too expensive to save
them.
In Colorado they are beginning to see the light
A whole series of horrible disasters hat-forced it
on them. The coroner's jury that Investigated the
Starkville explosion found it had been due to elec
tricity, and a commission appointed by the governor
strongly urged on the legislature this spring abso
lutely to forbid the use of electricity in mines, re
gardless of the cost
Having no power to enforce the use of safety
apparatus, the department of mines is baaing ita
undertaking on moral suasion. With the help of
mining inspectors and new state laws it hopes to
get results. Eventually, it has reason to believe,
it will be successful. It is doing a similar work la
respect to explosives.
Sand as a Fire Extinguisher
known as "a short circuit" If water
were used it would spread the electrlo
current and probably Increase tho
damage, but sand, properly used, very
quickly extinguishes the flames.
Profit of Revolt.
"What's the nse? If we capture
the government there's no money hi
the treasury."
"Well, can't we tell the
ture rjgbtsr
^25,000,000
CAMOY
278,000,000
^JEWELRY
£60,000,000
WASHINGTON.—When
Great Sums Spent in Luxuries
as
it comes to
a keen understanding of domes
tic economy, there is no man living
who has anything on Representative
J. Hampton Moore of Philadelphia.
He has completed a list of luxuries
which shows that the candy con
sumed in a single year represents
the cost of a complete chain of canals
from Boston to Key West that the
jewelry sold represents twice the cost
of building the Panama canal, and
that the nickels annually dropped on
soda water counters are sufficient to
establish a complete inland water
way system.
The statistics with which Represent
ative Moore backs his assertions are
colossal. They represent his investi
gation into the reason for the high
cost of living, and prove that the in
dividual himself is in a large meas
ure responsible for the decline of the
dollar's value.
According to Mr. Moore, the boys
Just how much this enormous sum
can be reduced without crippling the
public service in the least is still a
question, but the members of the econ
omy and efficiency board are confi
dent that a great saving can be made.
The heads of the executive depart
ments have received instructions to
pare traveling expenses wherever pos
sible. This order is applicable to the
war and navy departments, as well as
to all other departments of govern
ment
Of course, the largeness of the Item
for traveling expenses is due in great
measure to the laws under which men
in the navy and in the army, either
as officers or privates, receive travel
allowances. The travel expenses of
the department' of agriculture and
the department of the interior are
also necessarily heavy, and the same
PRELIMINARY statement show-
1909 census for establishments en
gaged in the manufacture of woolen
and worsted goods has just been is
sued by the director of the census,
E. Dana Durand.
Although the number of establish
ments has decreased, denoting a ten
dency toward concentration, which
has been the rule in the wool manu
facturing industry since 1870, on the
other hand the amount of capital re
ported as invested shows an increase
from $256,554,000 in 1899 to $415,465,
000 in. 1909, or 62 per cent, during the
decade. The cost of materials used
increased 85 per cent, and the amount
paid In salaries and wages 58 per
cent. The number of salaried offi
cials and clerks increased but 47 per
cent and the number of wage earn
ers only 29 per cent.
The value of products increased
from $238,746,000 in 1899 to $419,826,
000 In 1909, or 76 per cent. The
The navy department, however, has
received a report from a board of sur
vey, which estimated that about $25,
000 would be necessary to fit the old
sailing vessel for the long cruise to the
west coast. In addition the expense of
such a long trip would be considerable.
In view of the outlay involved in the
All the Attractions.
This seems to be quite a progress*
lve town," said the stranger.
"Oh, yes," the native proudly re
plied, "the big cities ain't got nothing
on us. We've just finished a hotel
that has a mezzanine floor."
and girls of the country and the old
er people, too, spent $25,000,000 last
year on chewing gum.
The country's confectionery bill for
1910 amounted to $78,000,000.
The $80,000,000 spent on jewelry is
twice the amount required to build
the Panama canal.
Our soda water bill was $320,000,
000.
The representative says: "Take
the egg, for instance it doesn't cost
the hen any more to lay an egg today
than it did 100 years ago, but we pay
more than our grandfathers did be
cause we don't let the hen lay. the
egg where we can get out the back
door ourselves and pick it up. The
farmer's wife in Idaho goes out and
gathers up an egg, keeps it till a man
comes along with a buggy and takes
it from 1 sr. He crates, sorts and
packs it along with others and then
carries it to the railroad. It is laid
in April, May or June you don't get
it until the following Christmas, and
you have to pay for its keep all that
time, pay for the cold storage, pay
the railroad rates, the expense of the
man who went around in a buggy and
gathered it and the initial price of
the farmer's wife In Idaho. It is the
same all along the line."
Economy Board to Save Millions
THE
economy and efficiency board is
beginning to get results. It has
reached a point in its labors where it
thinks it foresees where a million dol
lars may be saved during the first year
of its existence.
At present it is devoting its atten
tions largely to the item of traveling
expenses of government employees and
to the duplication of work in the de
partments. The president and the mem
bers of his cabinet were surprised to
learn from this board that the travel
ing expenses charged„against the treas
ury last year aggregated about $12,
000,000.
is true, though not to so great an ex
tent, of the post office department.
Whatever abuse exists under the
laws which permit officials and em
ployes to travel at the expense of
the government did not spring up un
der the present administration. Un
der the preceding administration no
effort was made to hold in check
travel expenditures.
The injunction that has gone out
simply is that travel pay must not be
authorized except where travel on
government business is absolutely
necessary.
Soon after President Taft entered
the White House, and long before the
present economy. and efficiency board
was created, instructions went out to
the heads of the executive depart
ments to curtail traveling expenses
wherever possible. Under that gen
eral order a considerable saving was
effected during the first two years of
this administration, but the economy
and efficiency board thinks it sees
how a still greater saving may be
brought about.
Shoddy in Much Less Demand
fDOrVT BRmC
-OUT ANYTHING
SHODDY I
WArJT I10THWC
BUT THE BESTJ
greater part of this increase took
place during the second half of the
decade in fact, the increase of over
$100,000,000 in the five years since
1904 Is far greater than that of any
decade prior to 1900 in the history
of the industry.
The quantity of wool consumed, in
condition purchased, increased from
330,179,000 pounds to 474,751,000
pounds, or 44 per cent. reckoned on
a scoured wool basis, the increase was
50 per cent. The quantity of raw cot
ton consumed decreased from 40,245,
000 pounds to 20,055,000 pounds, or
50 per cent., while the amount of
cotton yarn purchased increased
from 35,343,000 pounds to 39,169,000
pounds, or 11 per cent. The net re
sult is a decided decrease in the
amount of cotton used as a material
by wool manufacturers.
The figures also show a marked de
crease in the use of shoddy. The
quantity purchased decreased 35 per
cent, and the amount manufactured
in woolen mills for use therein fell
of 10 per cent.
Can't Have the Old Portsmouth
THE
navy department probably will JK&BWK 1
be unable to comply with the I wnM»fl\\ «-*-«/.
wishes of the people of California who
have asked that the old sailing ship
Portsmouth now at the New York navy
yard, be towed to the Pacific coast to
be preserved there as a naval mu
seum. The people of the Pacific coast
are anxious to have the Portsmouth
sent to San Francisco bay because
she was identified with the early his
tory of California. She sailed into
San Francisco bay and took possession
in the name of the United States. If
she had not taken this action what is
now California might have become a
part of the British empire, as two
British cruisers arrived there only a
few hours after the Portsmouth. The
San Francisco people want to use the
old vessel as an exhibit in connection
with the coming exposition there.
This is explained by the fact that
the manufacture of worsted fabrics,
into which shoddy does not enter as a
material to any appreciable extent,
has increased enormously, while the
quantity of woolen fabrics in which
shoddy is utilized was actually less
in 1909 than in 1899.
proposal Secretary of the Navy Meyer
feels that it would be inadvisable for
the government to undertake the send
ing of the Portsmouth to the Pacific
coast. It is probable that sh* win
be turned over to the Marine Hospital
service for use aa a floating hos
pital.
The old sailing vessel Independence,
now at the Mare Island navy yard,
will also be disposed of soon. A board
of survey has been ordered to inves
tigate her condition and recommend
what disposition should be made of
her. The Independence sailed in 1815
for the Barbary coast under Commo
dore William Bainbridge to arrange
the difficulties between the United
States and the Barbary powers. She
has been used as a receiving ship at
the Mare Island navy yard since 1858.
Superlative.
Smith (to member of vested choir)
—"I hear you've got a new tenor la
the choir. What kind of a voice has
he—good?" Jones—"Good? I ehould
say sot It's so good none of the other
tenors will apeak to him."—Life.
WIS
E REGEN fo»
A MADKING
HE oldest ruler in Europe bas
just celebrated his ninetieth
birthday. And he is no dod
dering, slippered pantaloon, but
a vigorous man who loves noth-
ing better than to hunt barelegged In
the forests and to swim in cold lakes.
The prince regent of Bavaria is this
grand old man.
Prince Luitpold has been regent of
Bavaria for 25 years because two sue-,
cessive kings have been mad. Otto,
the present nominal ruler, was in
sane when he came to the throne on
the death of his brother in 1886.
Should he die, Prince Luitpold, his
uncle and next of kin, would inherit
the throne. But Otto Is only sixty-two
years old and at latest reports was in
the best of physical condition, so in
the nature of things he should out
live his nonagenarian uncle.
After the regent the next heir to
the throne is the latter's eldest son,
Prince Louis, sixty-six years old
after him comes the latter's son,
Prince Rupert, forty-two years old,
and fourth in the line of succession is
Rupert's ten-year-old son Luitpold, a
handsome, jolly-looking little lad.
Thus Bavaria has the unusual dis
tinction of having four heirs-presump
tive to the throne in direct line of
succession.
-King Otto, who resides usually in
the wonderful castle of Neuschwan
stein which his mad brother built on
a crag of the Bavarian Alps, spends
his time smoking cigarettes, talking
to the wall-paper, shooting at peas
ants from his windows with rifles that
are carefully loaded by his attendants
with harmless bullets. His beard is
long, and they say that he is filthy
in his habits, which is no uncommon
thing with maniacs.
Prince Lultpold's life has been one
of the most extraordinary in modern
history, not only for its length but
for the strange romance and tragedy
with which it has been filled.
The son of a king, the brother of
two kings and the uncle of two kings,
he has never been a king himself, and
yet he has ruled Bavaria for a quar
ter of a century. He might have been
a king had he so desired at any time
in the last twenty years, for the par
liament of his land has over and over
again besought him to assume the
name that goes with the duties he
has performed so long, and the Ger
man and Austrian emperors have re
peatedly urged the step upon him.
But so conscientious is he that he has
always refused and he has also re
fused in all this time to take for him
self a penny of the taxpayers' money.
Again, he may almost be said to
have made an emperor, for it was he
who handed .the Imperial crown to
William I. of Prussia at Versailles
in 1870, and without him Bismarck's
schemes to create the German em
pire must have come to naught.
Prince Luitpold is a stockily built
man of medium height, with a full
white beard and mustache that still
shows streaks of auburn, the rosy
complexion that comes of exposure to
wind and weather, and clear blue
eyes behind large spectacles under
bushy brows. His head is still
crowned with rather bristly hair that
has grown a bit thin on top, but that
falls straight over a bull neck be
hind. His nose turns up slightly, its
nostrils are wide and generous and
it is big at the Up.
Unlike the' German emperor, who
respects him almost like a father,
Prince Luitpold rarely dons a mili
tary uniform. He goes about in
tweeds or the frock coat of a civilian
and wears his many orders only on
state occasions. He is happiest in
the short kilts of the Bavarian peas
antry, with a soft hat ornamented by
a pheasant's or cock's feather, with
thick stockings ending below his
knees. In this costume he tramps the
mountains and forests for days at a
time, hunting wild boars, stags and
chamois or shooting feathered game.
A devout Roman Catholic himself,
he is not only tolerant of the religious
views of others, but lends a kindly
band to the pastors of all churches.
It is difficult to realize what It
means to be as old as the prince re
gent. When he was born Monroe waa
president of the United States, Adams.
Jefferson and Madison were still liv
ing.
Lultpold's father waa Louis I., king
of Bavaria, who was forced to abdi
cate because of his infatuation for
Lola Montes, tho notorious adven-
iZ^Xr*£s$?«%74* #w
turess and beauty. At that timej
Luitpold was thirty,years old. He*
was the youngest of three brothers.!
The oldest, Maximilian, succeeded to}
the throne of Bavaria the seconds
Otto, became king of Greece, only to]
be driven from the throne by a mili-i
tary conspiracy. On the death off
King Maximilian in 1864 his eldest!
son, Louis, Inherited the throne at the!
age of nineteen.
King Louis II. was a most extraor-j
dinary man, and there can be little
doubt that he really was insane man}
years before he was forced to abdi
cate because of bis crazy actions.
lived more in a dream world than in aj
real. The only man he gave any]
sign of loving was Richard Wagner.
For his family he had no regard. His!
childhood was passed in castles on
the walls of which were paintedj
scenes from Bavarian legend.
By 1876 his younger brother, Otto,j
had gone hopelessly insane and been
put away in a private retreat. It i»
said that the old Kaiser William I.
was the first to discover Otto's insan
ity when the young man ordered the
regiment he was commanding in 1870
to charge a stone wall.
In 1886 the king shut himself up in
his mountain castle, refusing to see
his ministers or even his servants. A
family council sent specialists to ex*
amine Louis and on their report de
cided that he must be deposed and
placed under restraint. He was com
pelled to abdicate on June 10, 1886,
and three days later his body and that
of Doctor von Gudden, his attendant,
were found In Lake Starnberg. It is
probable that Louis, chafing undef re
straint, tried to escape by swimming
and was drowned.
Otto, also mad, succeeded him un
der the regency of his uncle, Luitpold.
Throughout the insanity of these
two kings their verv sane old uncle,
Luitpold, has been governing their
kingdom for them. He reorganized*
the army and made it splendidly effi
cient. He has gradually been paying
off the almost fabulously large debts
left by Louis I., living in the mean
time on his own private income.
When he first became regent he waa
the worst hated man in Bavaria, for
the people' loved their handsome, ec
centric King Louis they would not
believe he was insane they believed
that Luitpold had Lad him deposed!
and shut up in his castle out of per
sonal ambition. But they very soon
learned the contrary. Every time the
Bavarian parliament has wanted to*
depose the crazy king and enable
Prince Luitpold to reign in name as
well as In fact, he has firmly opposed:
the plan, saying the Bavarian consti
tution would not permit it.
And so he has lived and grown oldj
unselfishly working for others, with*
no recompense whatever for his serv*
ices save only the deep love of hie
people and the profound respect of the
rulers of other lands.
Good Thing to Remember.
'If any one tells you there is noth
ing new under the sun," remarked a
well-dressed woman to her friend,
"dont you believe it. I have just come
from a sewing class In a public school,
and what do you think the teacher
asked me as she explained things?"
"Cannot Imagine," answered the
friend.
"She said, 'Do you thread youij
needle or needle your thread?'"
"What a funny question! What fta
tide difference?' demanded the frlendJ
"Just try it" promptly responded!
the other. 'Threading the needle' la
all wrong. Just take the needle in the
right hand and needle your thread]
and see how much easier it is. I onlyj
wish I had known it 20 years ago."
..=--
:3y
,,
Years and Years.
The music hall artist was visibly!
annoyed by the "booming" of a fewj
cockneys In the rear of the theateri
Finally she advanced to the footlights!
and shouted In anger:
"111 have you know that I appeared
before King Edward VHth!"
And the cockney crew roared back*]
'Ow long before?"—Tonkers States*
man.
In an Awful Hole.. I
"They say that actors are very aei
perstttlous."
"Yes I know several stars whsj
consider it unlucky to play to aa
dience of 13 people." S I
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