The daily pioneer. [volume], September 05, 1903, Image 4

About The daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Beltrami Co., Minn.) 1903-1904

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

                
Old Darkey Was Satisfied the Animal
Could Read.
Three colored men were discussing
the intelligence of different animals.
One claimed that the dog knew more
than all other animals put together,
The horse was favored by a second
man, but old Peter Jackson said that,
"in my opinion de goat am de 'telli
gentest critei* livin'. I kin prove dat
de goat kin read. I saw him do it,
an' I know it. am (rue. Several days
ago, I wuz walkin' down street,
dressed in niah best suit ob clothes,
an' wearin' man new plug hat. When
I got down on de main street I seed
a billboa'd on which it said, "Chew
Jackson's plug.' A goat wuz standin'
thar when I passed, an' when I wuz
about ten feet away he must hab rec
ognized me, for de next thing I knew
I went saihn' out in de mud. When
I looked 'rouu', dat goat wuz chewin'
mah plug hat for all he wuz worth.
Gem'men, da is no question in mah
mind about de 'telligenqe oh de goat.
He am a wondah."
NOT TO BE TRUSTED.
Why Conductor Thought Women
Should Not Have Ballot.
How many-sided and how funny is
the life load in a city street car. Not
long ago a woman gave the conductor
of one a dollar bill. On receiving the
change she counted and recounted it.
"This is not right," she called after
him. "Ain't, eh there's 95 cents.
Don't suppose yer wanter ride free."
She made another mental calculation
and hlushingly subsided. As the man
reached the rear platform he was
heard to grumble: "And them's the
things as wants to vote."
Wig Good Cause for Divorce.
The widow of a large estate owner
in Germany, who recently married a
count of small means, has obtained a
separation from
Had to Pay to Find Out.
At one of the New York theaters
they are playing a piece called "A
Fool and His Money." A preacher
from Wisconsin was visiting Gotham
last week and in passing the theater
one evening was curious to know if
the play conveyed the proverbial les
son suggested by its title. Stepping
up to the box office, he inquired re
garding the matter. "I think," said
the suave party behind the grating,
"that the moral of the piece is that
the fool and his money gather no
moss. It will cost you $2 to find out
exactly." The preacher murmured
"Thank yon" and withdrew. He tells
the story himself.
New Way to Do Time.
Dr. Lillinksjold, of Butte, Mont., is
credited with having adapted hypno
tism to a novel purpose. The doctor,
having been placed under arrest, tried,
fined and sentenced to gaol for twenty
days for some small infracton of the
law, deliberately hypnotized himself,
saying he would awaken from his
trance at the expiration of twenty
days. All efforts to awaken him were
unsuccessful till the end of that peri
od. As a mean of "doing" time, or of
whiling away long intervals, Dr.
Lillinksjold's plan is probably unique.
Inspecting American Railroads.
J. T. Tatlow. John Wharton. George
Banks, F. Dale and H. O'Brien, offi
cials of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
railway of England, are in this coun
try and will make extended inspec
tion of American railroads. They
have been viewing things in several
eastern cities and will shortly vist
Chicago. They represent the me
chanical, freight and passenger de
partments of the Lancashire and
Yorkshire road.
The Coming Man.
"Mrs. Frisbie is suing her husband
for divorce." "Indeed? What is the
trouble?" "Well, she says she tried
not to mind when Mr. Frisbie used
her curling irons, wore her shirt
waists and borrowed her collar but
tons. But when he began to go
through her pockets and extract her
small change after she was asleep
st.e felt that patience had ceased to
be a virtue,"Brooklyn Eagle.
Costly Skipping-Rope.
A skipping-rope has been presented
bj a fond Pittsburg millionaire to his
six-year-old daughter. The handles
are gold, studded with an odd jewel,
while the cord, the finest procurable,
cost more than a dollar per inch.
When the child grows a little older
she will be able fully to appreciate her
papa's gift. At present she treats it
as if it were an ordinary rope.
THE GOAT AND THE PLUG. ROYALTY AT THE RECEPTION
her second husband
on exceedingly novel grounds. Alter
the marrip^e the Bride discovered
that her husband wore a wig and re
ceived such a shock at the sight of
his bald hen.d that she took a violent
antipathy to him, and commenced
proceedings against him. Her suit
was successful, and she obtained a
separation after three weeks' mar
riage. The grounds upon which the
decision was based were that if she
had known of the wig she would
never have married the count.
Will Loan Money to Poor.
A body of philanthropic New York
ers have formed themselves into the
Personal Protective Loan Associa
tion, with the purpose of loaning
money to the poor at 6 per cent per
annum. The capital of the organiza
tion is $10,000 and the incorporators
are Thomas M.-Mvttry, Edward F.
Cragin, Rev. Dr. David J. Burrell,
Father A. P. Doyle and Robert B.
Miller. Individual money lenders
never charge less than 30 per cent,
and sometimes a great deal more.
There are 300 pawnshops in New
York. &
Wearisome Duties Imposed on Those
in High Position.
How royalty and their suites ever
manage to survive those weary hours
of standing is always a mystery to me,
eays "The Countess," in the London
Outlook. "You get used to it In
time," say the maids of honor, but ap
parently not till they have been car
ried out two or three times in a faint
do the gentlemen-at-arms tightly but
toned up In uniforms and smothered in
helmets get used to the ordeal.
It is within the memory of many
how in Dublin a certain distinguished
viceroy In the middle of a drawing I
room gave the order to cVose the
doors, and having cleared the room the
entire viceregal party sat down on
the floor in various stages of collapse,
and I often wonder how It is that our
own king and queen are not similarly
overcome on these occasions. Royal
ty is the best paid profession, but as
suredly, it must be also the most
wearing.
THE JOKE OF A KING.
Historic Hoax Perpetrated by Gusta
vus III. of Sweden.
King Gustavus III. of Sweden had
been frequently invited to the little
court of Schwerin. In 1783 he paid a
visit to Germany and as soon as the
Duchess of Mecklenburg heard of his
approach she prepared fetes in his
honor. But Gustavus, who disdained
the petty courts of the small rulers,
sent two of his attendantsa page
named Peyron, and Desvouges, a valet
who had formerly been an actorto be
entertained by the duchess. The two
personated the king and his minister,
Baron Sparre, and sustained the char
acters throughout. They accepted as
their due all the homage meant for
their master, danced with the Mecklen
burg ladier who were presented to
them, and Peyron went so far as to
ask one of the ladies for her portrait.
Meantime Gustavus was enjoying him
self elsewhere in secret.
Overlooked a Detail.
A Long Island farmer came to
Brooklyn with his wife to do some
shopping the other day. On his way
back the thought came to him thaLhe
had forgotten something. He took
out his notebook and went over each
item, checking It off, and saw that he
had made all the purchases he intend
ed. As he drove on he could not put
aside the feeling that there was some
thing missing. He again took out his
notebook and rechecked every item,
but still found no mistake. He did
this several times, but could not rid
himself of the idea that he must have
forgotten something. When he
reached home and drove up to the
house his daughter came out to meet
him, and, with a look of surprise,
asked: "Why, papa, where is moth
er?"Mail and Express.
The Long-Suffering Editor.
A Queensland contemporary re
cently published the following: "Our
foreman printer recently measured
up the space occupied by obituary
notices in the Herald during the last
couple of months or so, and found it
made three and three-quarters yards.
This is so much dead loss to the pa
per, and if a fatal epidemic struck
the town ruin would stare us in the
face. We have, therefore, decided to
future to charge for such notices. So,
when people feel like dying, we hope
they will give directions to their next
of kin in respect of paying for the
same."
Painting the Dome of the Capitol.
The dome of the capitol at Wash
ington is being painted. Every five
years Its coat Is renewed and 15,000
gallons of white lead are used in the
process. The work is being done by
eighteen men, under the direction of
"Billy" Lewis and "Al" Ports. The
latter has been employed for such
work about the capitol for thirty-nine
years. Ports is the only man who
ever climbed to the top of the Statue
of Liberty surmounting the dome. He
,did this on Labor day, 1894, and fas
tened a garland of electric light bulbs
around the neck of her majesty.
Congo Road for Motor Cars.
The Congo Free State government
is enstructing a road In the northern
part of the state for the transport of
passengers and goods by means of
motor cars. The new route, of which
nearly 450 miles have been completed,
will join the important trading centers
of-Dongu andLado. While making
the road a local engineer hit upon the
happy idea of driving forty elephants
up and down the projected highway
until the thick undergrowth was
trampled down, allowing the natives to
complete the task.
No Royal Road.
St. Clair McKelway believes that
the journalism of the future will be a
profession and that men will be espe
cially educated for it. They are and
always have been. Did that important
and valuable member of the profes
sion never hear of "the hard school of
journalism?" There is no other, and
never will he, worth a pinch of snuff,
in our humble estimation. The uni
versity of experience is the one which
gives the real degrees in journalism.
Was Always Running.
The Duke of Argyll tells this story
of Winston Churchill, which shows
that the talent for talk developed
young In the author and member of
parliament. Some years ago he visit
ed Harrow, and noticing a boy run
ning around the cricket field all by
himself asked what he was doing it
for. "That's Lord Randolph Church
ill's son, and whenever he talks too
much we make him run three times
round the cricket nei*L" i
THE TRAINING OF A CHILD.
Several Important Points That Mu3t
Be Remembered.
To teach a child with success re
quires only common sens*, good judg
ment and. gentleness. Th ere are, how
ever, three other important points that
must ever be foremost jn the mind
of the teacher.
First of all, she must remember that
to teach is to impart instruction not
to find fault with ignorance, with lack
of comprehension, with ILstlessness or
with forgetfulness. Often, indeed, for
these last named faults, poor teaching
is to blame. Second, there is the
inflexible rule that requires a teacher
to prepare every lesson carefully be
fore giving it, in order to present it
In an interesting and intelligible way.
Third, there is the ever present dan
ger of overdoing, against which the
teacher must always be on guard.
In the beginning short lessons fre
quently varied give the beBt results.
Ten or fifteen minutes for each study
Is enough, and this time limit must
not be overstepped so long as to
morrow represents another day.The
Household.
VITALITY OF BURNS' FAME.
It Is One of the Great Facts of Our
Literature.
"The inquest" on Robert Burns was
concluded long ago, but irom time to
time the findings are reviewed by crit
ical writers, as in a recent symposium,
says Collier's. A curious result thus
chances. From every such inquisition
the poet emerges the more radiant and
triumphalthe critics are lost in the
splendor they have evoked. It is one
thing to make literature It is another
and quite different thing to write about
literature and the makers thereof. This
is a truism, and yet the distinction is
often confused, especially by the writ
ers of criticism. Burns has survived
several generations of critics, many
of whom made a vain bid for remem
brance by their praise or dispraise of
him. The vitality of his- fame is one
of the great facts of our literature.
Just an Incident in Georgia.
Mr. Bud Spinks was awakene the
other morning by a Strang, grunting
noise in his room, which proved to be
the voice of a medium-sized alligator
that was warming itself by the smol
dering ashes of his fireplace and inci
dentally trying to swallow his boots,
which he had placed there to dry, and
which he had bought on the install
ment plan and had only made one pay
ment on them. The saurian had suc
ceeded in swallowing orne boot and
had the other downclear to the
fitraps, which Mr. Spinlcs seized and
pulled it out. The 'gator is now on
exhibition at Minche's drug store, hut
will soon be slain in order that Mr.
Spinks, who is going around with one
boot and one slipper, may recover the
other boot.Adams Enterprise.
The Roentgen Rays Failed.
Hearing of the efficacy of the
Roentgen rays for the removal of
hairs from the upper lip a lady in
Hanover, age thirty-five, applied to
Dr. Karl Bruno Schurmayer, a prop
erly qualified doctor and Roentgen
ray specialist, for treatment. He
operated twice, but instead of remov
ing the superfluous hairs the opera
tion resulted in the skin of the face
becoming red and the lips swollen.
The lady thereupon brought an
action against the doc4oT and was
awarded $60 damages, against whicn
he appealed, but the decision has
just been upheld.
The Development of Africa.
In Ethiopia and the Soudan, the
work of development and exploitation
is progressing. The treaty recently
concluded between King Menelek and
the British government probably
means the early construction of the
Berber-Suakin railroad via Kassala
(costing some $15,000,000) and the
subsequent extension of the Kassala
line southward to Lake Rudolph,
where eventually it will form a junc
tion with the Uganda railway, at the
same time marking a long step toward
the realization of the Cape-to-Cairo
scheme.
This Lunch Was a Success.
A lady in Budapest recently gave a
charitable lunch party to the poor of
her district. She placed no limit on
the number of invitations, and the re
sult was that 3,000 people arrived, all
eager for the treat. Eventually the
police had to draw their sabers to keep
order among the revelers. There were
no two opinions about the success of
the function. The guests to a man
declared they had never assisted in so
intense and exciting a lunch before in
their lives. They were quite cut up
when the time came to go.
Different After Five Years.
William Glackins, who admires
Whistler, cited the other day two let
ters written by a collector of etchings
to a certain print seller. Between the
letters there was an Interval of five
years. The first said: "I do not want
etchings by Whistler. They impress
me as if files that had fallen in an ink
well had walked on old paper." The
second letter said: "Send me every
etching by Whistler the price of which
is not ruinous."Philadelphia Record.
Got It.
At the close of the third act the
gifted tragedian was ca.lled before the
curtain. "My friends," he said, ap
parently much astonished and embar
rassed, "your kindness overwhelms
me. I have striven conscientiously to
win your approval, but I was not pre
pared for so magnificent a welcome
and in the suprise of the moment I
find myself utterly1 hesitate for
want of a suitable word "Rals!"
shouted a gallery hoodlum.
i
THE EXPANSION OF RUSSIA.
Nothing Stops the Progress of the
Giant of the North.
The progress of Russia is like the
spreading of ink over blotting paper.
There is no natural barrier in Persia
to throw her back or head her off,
such as the mountainous frontier of
India. But the prospect of Russian
absorption of Persia is not practical
politics to-day. Neither is it practical
politics nor healthy patriotism to
hound on Great Britain to occupy,
finance, protect or claim rights in
every country which lies upon her
road to India or Africa or America or
the South Seas. Such a policy is mere
ly suicidal. We can barely govern
efficiently our present possessions.
Fresh large responsibilities in Persia,
In China and ultimately in Turkey
would simply weigh us down to the
gunwale and finally sink us.London
Chronicle.
FAD OF A FAMOUS JACKDAW.
Bird Took Trips on Buses and Gave
His Foes a Tongue Lashing.
I The Brixton jackdaw, which was
found dead recently in the bar of the
Angell Arms at Brixton, London, was
a great celebrity in his own way. All
jackdaws have fads of their own, and
I the favorite fad of this particular bird
was to travel all over London on omni
buses, trains and cabs. He was thor
oughly well known to every 'busman
in the Brixton district he used to
take his seat on a bus beside the
driver, and would chatter most volu
bly till the jburne- 'o the city or else
where was accomplished, when he
would fly back to his Brixton home.
He was a bird of strorg likes and dis
I likes, and when any of his master's
i customers failed to find t'avor in his
sight he would assail th^m with tne
most embarrassing flow of language.
Billiard Players.
The game of billiards has grown In
popularity of late with the fair sex.
According to Shakespeare, Cleopatra
played billiards with her favorite,
Charmion, in the year 30 B. C. At
present the best women players are
the French, who frequent professional
games and eagerly follow the billiard
news of the day. Patti Is fond of the
game and had a table made in this
country to take to her Welsh castle,
for which she paid $2,500. Among
American billiard players of repute
are Mrs. George Gould, Mrs. Edwin
Gould, Mrs. Almeric Paget, Mrs.
Eurke-Roche and Lillian Russell. Bil
liards are said to afford excellent ex
ercise.
Minister Bowen's Wife.
Mrs. Bowen, wife of our minister to
"Venezuela, talks very entertainingly
of the Venezuelans, whom she de
scribes as models of domestic virtue.
Many are also very beautiful, but they
go out very little in public, being of
Spanish descent. Mrs. Bowen, who
is slight in figure and of girlish man
ners, was a Miss Clegg of Galveston,
Tex. She is fond of pets, and among
the unusual ones entertained at the
legation in Caracas are several par
rots, a fine peacock and some monkeys
which are allowed to roam at will in
the garden.
The Deacon's Climax.
"Yes," said Deacon Stuckup, "the
works of Providence are manifold.
The omnipotence of the Almighty is
seen in al) things, great and small,
high and low. The good Lord who
made the great mountains made the
smallest insect that crawls over them
the good Lord who made the mighty
ocean made the smallest fish that
swims in it the good Lord who made
man, the greatest of His works, made
the smallest flower of the field. The
good Lord, brethren, who made me
made a daisy!"
The Methods of Novelists.
And here is Maxim Gorky paying
$150,000 cash for a beautiful palace on
the banks of the Volga. This is the
reward of the skilful use of his pen
in glorifying the tramp and the out
cast, and vilifying and scandalizing
their opposites in Russian society and
politics. It is frequently thus, though
Tolstoi began at the other end of the
social ladder, sacrificing a title and a
fortune for the rewards that have
come to him as a novelist and a cham
pion of the oppressed.
Few Motor Cars in Portugal.
Motor cars as yet show no signs of
being used in Portugal. Last year only
twenty were imported, of which
eighteen were French, one English and
one German. The bicycle trade is
also languishing only 572 bicycles
were imported in twelve months222
from the United States, 151 from
France and 35 from the United King
dom. The population of Portugal is
about the same as that of London.
London's Army of Horses.
In a recent paper on "Electric Auto
mobiles," read before the Institution
of Civil Engineers, Mr. H. F. Joel
stated that in London alone there were
over 1G.000 licensed horse-carriages,
apart from private vehicles, trades
men's vans, etc., and it was estimated
that over 200.000 horses were stabled
each night in London, necessitating
the daily removal of more than 5,000
tone of manure and refuse.
Too Much for Him.
"Arid do you mean to say," ex
claimed Farmer Brown to a policeman
in Lebanon, Pa., as he gazed at the
trolley wire, "that that thing is used
for travelin' purposes?" "Yes." "Hu-
man bein's go that a-way?" "Of
course." "Good-bya" "Where are
you going?" "Back home. I'm get
tin' used to the steam cars, but I'm
durned ef I'm ready to be seat by tele
graph."
1
TO GET RID OF RATS.
Writer Recommends Dipping the Ver
min in Varnish.
All tradesmen being liable to the
incursions and depredations of rats,
it may not be out of place to mention
a method of getting rid of these pests
which is recommended by a corres
pondent of the Birmingham Daily
Post. This consists in thinning down
with petroleum ordinary slow-drying
tar varnish such as bedstead makers
and japanners use and pouring the
mixture into the runs of the rats.
The vermin are said to loathe the
smell of the stuff, and will do any
thing to get clear of it. A still more
effective plan is said to be to catch a
rat alive, dip it up to the neck in the
varnish and turn it loose. Its fel
lows will flee from it as from the
de'il. The dipping process is said to
be harmless to the rat. But some
ironmongers may not care to "dip a
live rat up to its neck."
A GOOD PLACE TO BE "AT."
Incongruity of Surroundings in a Wild
Country.
One of the ctrangest sights I ever
saw in a wild country was a little min
ister garbed in solemn black, white
"dog" collar, buttonless vest and stiff
black straw hat. The dominie was
standing in a leaky boat in the midst
of a primeval woods, fishing the boil
ing waters of a mountain torrent. At
his back a cataract roared and
pounded the rocks, churning the water
to white suds above him the eternal
snow glistened on the mountains, and
but a few yards away a gaunt cinna-
mon bear was quietly nosing among
the driftwood.Dan Beard in the
World's Work.
Here's a New "Drink" Cure.
A novel remedy for the "drink hab
it"or, rather, for enabling those
who have "sworn off" to remain
"on the water cart"consists of ice
water drunk through a raw potato.
Take a bowl of ice water and a pota
to. Peel the potato and cut down one
end of it unril It can be easily insert
ed in the mouth. Dip the potato in
the ice water and suck it every time
a craving for strong drink comes on.
It is claimed that this treatment will
effect an absolute cure. The why and
the wherefore are not stated, but the
process is p"ch a simple one that
there can be no harm in trying it if
any one is afflicted with a thirst
which they really and truly desire to
lose.
To Cut Record Diamond.
In Amsterdam a syndicate has been
formed which will bear the great- ex-
pense and risk attending the cutting
of what Is the largest known diamond,
the Excelsior. The Excelsior was
found at the Jagersfontein diamond
mines of South Africa in 1893. It has
the size of a hen's egg and weighs in
its present raw state 970 carats, which
is nearly twice as much as the Kohi
noor weighed before it was reduced
to its present size. Specially con
structed machinery has to be em
ployd for cutting the Excelsior and
greai care is used in insuring its safe
ty from theft.
Luncheon a Decided Success.
i A lady in Buda-Pesth recently gave
a charitable Juncheon party to the
poor of her district. She placed no
limit oh the number o_invitations,
and the result was that 3,000 people
arrived, all eager for the treat.
Eventually the police had to draw
their sabers to keep order among the
revelers. There were no two opin
ions about the success of the func
tion. The guests to a man declared
that they had never assisted at so in
tense and exciting a luncheon before
in their lives. They were quite cut
up when the time came to go.
Remarkable Sea Monster.
A remarkable sea monster was re
cently caught In Port Fairy bay by
I some fiishermen. It measured nine
feet six inches in length, had a tail
like that of a screw tail-shaft, no
teeth, a nose like a rhinoceros, a head
like an elephnnt, two dorsal fins, four
side fins and two steering fins. The
skin was black and very soft. The
most experienced fishermen say the
specimen is altogether new to them.
They cannot hazard a guess as to the
species. The fish' has been sent on to
the Melbourne museum.
Corean a College Graduate.
Roanoke college at Salem, Va.,
vhic has had more foreign students
than any other college in the south,
will this year graduate the second
Corean to take the degree of bachelor
of arts anywhere in the world, the
first being Kin Beung Surb who re
ceived his A. B. at Roanoke in 1898
and his A. M. at Princeton in 1899.
Kinsic Kimm, who will be graduated
this year, is so good a speaker that
he won a prize in declamation several
years ago.
From Immense Wealth to Poverty.
George Kettler, an aged cobbler
who died recently In Argentine. Kan.,
at one time was worth $12,000,000.
Kettler was of German birth, and dur
ing the Franco-Prussian war operated
a large shoe factory in Hanover.
Profitable army contracts swelled his
fortune to the figure named, but he
lost everything in speculation. Then
he came to this country penniless to
begin life anew.
Woman's Logic.
As one phase of life this is interest
I ing. A woman was overheard to re
mark to her companion: "Yes, she
was terribly sore about that day she
lost 45 on the races." "What did
she do it for?" asked the man. "Why,
she must have some fun she works so
i hard all the rest of the time."
THE SMALL BOY'S LONGING.
Part of the Show That Was Woefully
Disappointing.
Little Willie's father took him to
the show. It was a variety show, end
I ing with a sketch called "The African
Belle," in which, after a missionary
had been bound to a stake by a lot of
dancing savages, he is rescued by the
chief's daughter after the manner of
Capt. John Smith. This last part of
the show Willie's father thought
would please the boy immensely but
the son and heir fell into a state of
gloom at its close. On the way home
the fond parent inquired: "Willie,
didn't you like the part where all the
savages come out?" "No," replied
Willie with a sigh. "Me and the other
I boys play that. When you pay to go
to a show I should think they might
kill the missionary."
PEAS FROM PHARAOHS' TOMB.
Their Product Unlike Anything Known
at Present.
There are bargains and finds to he
made in the plant world equal to any
picked up in old curiosity shops. Some
time ago a Glasgow gentleman re
ceived from his son in Egypt an en
velope full of peas, which were said
to have been found in the tomb of one
of the Pharaohs. He sent them to a
friend of his at Kames, in the Isle ot
Bute, who sowed them. They grew
up into plants quite unlike anything
known at present, strong and about
six feet high, with a great white flow
er having a red center. The pods
were long and full of excellent peas.
This new old variety found a ready
sale at good prices.
Muscular Christianity.
Prof. Bryce, in his biographical
study of Bishop Fraser, of Manches
ter, tells of a clergyman of Fraser's
diocese who had knocked a man down
who had insulted him. The bishop
wrote him a letter of reproof, point
ing out that exposed as the Church of
England was to much criticism on all
hands, her ministers ought to be very
careful of their demeanor. The of
fender replied by saying: "I must re
gretfully admit that, being grossly
Insulted, and forgetting in the heat of
the moment the critical position of
the Church of England, I did knock
the man down, etc." Fraser was de
lighted with the turning of the tables
on himself, and afterward invited the
clergyman to visit him.
Superfluous Boys.
A British parliamentary paper
shows that, as usual, nearly 20,000
more boys than girls were born in
the British isles last year. Whence,
then, the "superfluous woman?" The
boys die, during the first weeks and
months o* life, at a far greater rate
than the supposed "weaker vessels."
In a few months they have sunk to an
equality and soon woman takes the
lead, numerically, and keeps it, nu
merically. The reason is not uncon
nected with the larger size of the
baby boy's head, for which he either
pays the penalty very early or reaps
the rewardif woman will forgive
the hintlater.
Why He Disliked Spelling Reform.
Senator F. Dumont Smith of Kins
ley lectured on "Words" in Wichita,
Kan., a few nights ago. He is for
spelling reform, and in advocating it
in his lecture said that he knew of
only one argument in favor of the old
way and that was given by an Eng
lish bishop who declared that the
present method of spelling helped the
churches. According to the bishop:
"By the time you can make a boy be
lieve that 't-h-r-o-u-gh' spells
'through,' that 't-h-o-u-g-h' spells
'though' and 't-o-u-g-h' spells 'tough'
you can make him believe anything."
Motor Cars in Switzerland.
Should the experiments in progress
in the neighborhood of Berne prove as
successful as is anticipated travelers
to Switzerland in the summer of this
year will be able to cross the moun
tains by motor car instead of the*
usual post diligence. The actual trials
will be made in tne spring, and the
result, if successful, will be not only
to allow travelers to make the differ
ent journeys in half the time, but to
open the mountain roads, which are at
present closed to them on account of
the horses.
Much Money in Tramp's Clothes.
A lot of young fellows in an Ohio
town had a good time with a tramp
last week. They took him into a shed,
gave him a good bath, shaved him
and cut his hair. They then bought
a new suit of clothes, white shirt and
stand-up collar and dressed him out
complete. But when they attempted
to burn his hobo clothes he objected
and fought for them with 6uch des
peration their suspicions wrere
aroused, and upon searching they
found $1,400 sewed up in the coat.
Girl an Excellent Athlete.
Miss Agnes S. Wood, the champion
basket ball player and all-around ath
lete of Vassar college, has beaten the
girls' record at running and almost
equaled that of men, despite the fact
that her gait was somewhat impeded
by a rather cumbrous costume. She
does not allow athletics to interfere
with her studies and will graduate
near the head of her class.
Few Automobiles in Washington.
Official Washington does not take
kindly to the automobile and very
i few persons in the executive or dip
lomatic service are seen in vehicles
other than carriages. The president
is too fond of horses ever to take up
the craze. He has always shown a
I preference for surreys and seldom
drives out of town in any other kind
of vehicle.
I