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JPflE WILMINGTON MjSSSENGER, FiilDAY, MAY 25. 1903. 8 Bowser Wants i Chicken Farm He Figures Out There's Millions to Be Had In Raising I Poultry. WIFE SHATTERS IDEA Shows Him He Cannot Make Money by Following Out Plan Outlined to Her Starts Trouble. Copyright, 190C. by Eugene Parcells. Instead of sitting down to his paper and cigar after dinner, as is Mr. Bow ser's usual programme, he paced up and down the sitting room with his hands behind his back and his fore head wrinkled with some mental puz zle. When he had wasted fifteen min utes at this Mrs. Bowser asked: "Has anything gone wrong with your business affairs today?" "No," he replied as he paused. "Then what bothers you?" "I want to talk to you about a mat ter, and if you can possibly do so I wish you'd talk straight and sensible. I mean by that that I don't want any sarcasm or giggling." "Well, I'll try my best." "Then I want to talk about a chicken farm. I know we canvassed the sub- !tiii'i'!,;:iMMiii;"S3 SITTING ON THE VERANDA. Ject before, but I was not as well post ed on the matter as I am now. I have been going into the matter very thor oughly for the past week." "I will help you all I can," said Mrs. Bowser as she took down pencil and pad and prepared to make notes. "I am getting along in years, Mrs. Bowser, and the day is not far distant when the daily grind is going to be too much for me. By that time I want to be so situated that I can take things easy sit on the veranda and boss and let other men do the work." "I am in accord with your ideas. What are your plans?" Plans Chicken Farm. "To run a chicken farm. I tell you, Mrs. Bowser, there's a gold mine in it. I am amazed that Rockefeller don't drop Standard Oil and Armour let go of I. oof and private cars and go into chicken raising. I have f.gurss to prove ond m f'ubt that it discounts the South ,Afri-.::i diamond tields." "Then you shall luwv my hearty co opviMtn::. work v.'ith you in every w: to it; ii:o a sivrts of it. talki" wave I ui:?d Mr. .i nroi;:;.1 i: v ,.-r a- h". ' : !. y.-r.v y a f" .i ' 'irt- and pr-j;: i ; -r.. Nv ill. '. i'.'!.. ' id v:.::der."-! -. ht?n divi:; : f Umi's ! . : layers in ;!. '. lay e.T ;; "I tho;.-: . re speaking ii'e :nw. and I'm t.k? it easily !: .'.v vou some :::-t in with 000 I - ivii ::;.;-;y Rose and ". v are the bo-t '. : ;m y'i! g, out and "V)-e v.-:;'.; tl;1 name t'.-.t Maiden's B.:sh of a notat was the name of an apple Ovl 111 1 O. Bowser. "Don't begin to carp and cavil at the very outset. I shad start out with 000 lions. This is exclusive of roosters. There are hens that lay every day in tlu week ::0. others that only lay ev ery other day You "can figure on at least 7v.o egg-? eery day in the year. That's about l.."2S dozen. At 20 cents the dozen we have an income of about $34 per day. That, again, is $12,500 per year. Any objections to raking in that tidy little sum every year for the rest of your life, Mrs. Bowser?" "Not the slightest. Go on." Figures Ont n Profit. "We have figured on the eggs only. Among a thousand hens there ought to be at least Ooo that would set twice a year and bring forth twelve chicks at each sitting. That's over 7.000 chicks a year. Figure it at the lowest pos sible notch, and the income is $3,500. That's $10,000 a year altogether, and as you've nothing to do but gather and market the eggs and increase I'd like to know what more a reasonable being could ask for. "Increase the number of chickens to 2,000 and you increase your income to $32,000. I think I shall stop at 2,000, as several hmived roosters crowing at once in the sr all hours of the morn- I Ing might disturb some sick person, j We'll alio cut $2,000 a year off for ac- wm eidenta and place the Income at $30,- 000." "Where did you get your figures from, Mr. Bowser?" asked Mrs. Bow ser as he sat rubbing his hands to gether and beaming at the cat. "From a man right In the chicken business." "And does he want to sell out?" "Yes. His mother-in-law has come to live with him, and she hates chlck tns. She went out with a pall of boil ing water the other morning and scald ed thirty of them. He has either got to break her neck or give up the chick ens, aud as he is a man without much backbone he lias decided to sell out. I'm to give him an answer tomorrow. Ile'll sell me the farm for $8,000 and the 000 chickens he has for $300. Then I go ahead and buy 400 more, and it's all clear sailing. That's the plan. What do you think of It?" "You read your paper for a few min utes and let me do some figuring," she replied. "But what figuring Is there to do?" "You will see. Of course there are always two sides to a plan." "There can't be to this. It's the plain est proposition ever stated. However, go ahead and figure. You may make the income $5,000 higher than I do." Mrs. Bowser worked away for ten minutes and then said: "You will pay $8,000 for the farm, $300 for the chickens on hand and $200 for enough additional to make up your thousand. The new coops and runways will cost, say, $200; our re moval, $100, and the taxes at least $75 per year. A horse and wagon will cost you $300, your help at leastOOO and the feed for 1.000 lions cannot be less than $1,000. Our household expenses, with two men to board, cannot be less than $1,000. Here is an outgo of al most $13,000 for the first year, and you must figure interest on over $11,000 of it. We will add $550 for that." "Heavens, but has the woman gone crazy V" gasped Mr. Bowser as he look ed at the cat. Hens WonM Vot Lay. "If you get 250 eggs per day the year through from 1,000 liens you will be in luck." she crm'inuod. "If we place the price at 20 cents a dozen, which is high, you will receive about $1,500. A3 for the sale of chickens, you can't figure on over 2X). This number at an aver age of SO cents each will give you $100. You will 1)0 sure to lose from fifty to a hundred of your hens per year and have to renew, but we'll say nothing about that. You have an outgo the first year of about $13,000 and an income of about $1,500. The second, year you have" "I have nothing!" shouted Mr. Bow ser, with his face the color of red paint. "Woman, I knew how it would be! By the living jingo, but why can't I keep from making a fool of myself?" "The second year your income will be about a third of your expenses. You may, by sitting on the veranda and smoking Partegas and fanning yourself with a palm leaf, finally get it down to one-half, but you cannot expect to do better. In other words" "Stop! I will hear no more!" "Bur you won't want to sit on the vera n:: a and smoke and fan at a loss of three or four thousand dollars a yea;-, do you?" she protested. Leaves Ilonse In Auger, "Never you mind what I want. I am now going out. You needn't sit up lor me. It' any ore calls, tell tlisxn that I m:y not be home for a week. When I i'. : come. I shall have facts and figure.- to shrivel you up like an old cab- y.r. Bowser put on his overcoat and hat a :ui strrii u'.il. He wanted evi dence to coar'.'.-t Mrs. Bowser of false statistics. ::. h wanted sympathy, and he kapy.?:: i to remember th ; family cobV. r used to run a ch'.eke.i ranch in the country. II ; wont around to the shoo, and after a few remarks about the weather he said: "Jake. wq..';1 you advise me to take a chicken farm?" "Vhr.s you thiak!:fg of, it?" was asked. "Very strongly." "Den let me adwlse somot'ings bet ter. Take a jackass farm." "What do you mean?" "If you take a jackass farm you can be der biggest one among 'em." Mr. Bowser couldn't take a man sixty-five years old by the neck and shake his whiskers loose, and so he went out. Just as he stepped outdoors a man asked: "Can I ask you the way to the Rev. George Thompson's church, please?" "You can. but I'll eat you in return!" shouted Mr. Bowser as Mont Pelee finally burst forth. The questioner was a clergyman him self. He knew asphalt pavement, and he knew when to strike a gait. With one loud, long cry of "Police!" he start ed, and the three or four watchers of the race agreed that at the end of the first block he bad gained ten feet on Mr. Bowser and would run him out of sight in three or four blocks more. M. QUAD. Sore of It. Elderly Spinster You know, doctor, Tm always thinking that a man is fol lowing me. Do you think I suffer frou hallucinations? .Doctor Absolutely certain you do, ma'am. 1 A DELICATE INSTRUMENT It Will Measure the One Seventy-Mil- liooth Part of an Inch. Consul Ma a in writes from. Nottlag- ham that, after fire years labor, Dr. P. EL Shaw, of the University Co -lege, has completed an apparatus mak ing it possible to measure the one seventh millionth part of an inch, and which will prove of great use to scien tists in their researches. The invention consists of a very fine micromete screw and a series of six levers acting in conjunction with it which must be suspended by rubber bands from a specially mad 3 frame and inclosed in a box. Th3 frame is placed in a vault under tb university and surrounded with every safeguard against friction and vibra tion, "but even then," says Doctor Shaw, "it is impossible to carry cut experiments to be successful while there is traffic in the streets. Every factory, too, where motive power is employed, must be closed, even if it is some distance away." Even a draf ts said to be fatal to the successful measurement of such minute quanti tities as one seventy millionth pan of an inch. Dust must also be kept away from the vault, and it is said that even the buzzing of an odinary fly has made it neecessary to suspend experi ments until the insect has been dis posed of. The apparatus it is claimed, could be made specially serviceable in meas uring engineering guages. It is broadly asserted that all scientists recognize that Doctor Shaw has succeeded i:: surpassing every other form of meas urement on guages in delicacy and ac curacy. There are said to be many other uses for it for instance, that it will act as a most delicate .coherer for wireless telegraphy, and will pro mote the study of nature and possi bly the movements of the moie cules of matter. Doctor Shaw is still improving his apparatus in the hope of measuring quantities still more minute. The general principle of the method is electrical touch. This ex planation is given: "If two surfaces, clean and polished come in contact the current can at once be made to pass through them and excite a tele phone or other sensitive recorder. Pre viously it has been impossible to measure the sparking gap of an elec tric current of less than 38 volts, but with Doctor Shaw's apparatus a spark ing gap of half a volt can be meas ured. If physicists desire to under stand and plan nature's happenings it is imperative that there should be exact measurements of very small lenghts and of extremely minute par ticles. Seeing that nature deals in such small quantities it is useless to attempt to unravel the secrets without the finest instruments. Charlotte Chronicle. The Political Field Today. . The present state of politics presents some curious and perplexing features. What may not a year, or a campaign, bring forth? Take Pennsylvania. The old baili wick of the Camerons and of Quay, it has been going republican for years with only an occasional shake-up. Since free trade and free silver became demo cratic shiobleths the republican major ities have been mounting up higher and higher, until 1904 the vote looked unan imous. The republicans got tired con tinuing, and the democrats were willing to concede and figure above a half a million. And yet last year the demo crats elected their candidate for state treasuser, and this year the republicans are anxious. They want a strong man to run for governor, and the talk even includes drafting Senator Knox, wno possesses many elements of stength. What a change in two years! And what may occur in the next two years! Take New York. The game there is always played down to its finecst poin. by both sides. The allies of one year are often the enemies of the next. Tammany in its time has marched with and then against nearly everybody. For twelve years the republicans have had everything their own way outside the city, and part of the time also in the city. But they are very much divided now. If the democrats were united it would be the opportunity of a lifetlm-:. But it is a question as to whether they are not as much divided as are the re publicans. Asked as to his choice for governor, Bird S. Coler, a prominent democratic official of Brookklyn, named several men and among them Charle3 S. Hughes. Reminded that Mr. Hughes was a republican, Mr. Coler replied' "He would be a good enough demo crat for me if he were nominated by the democrats. I am in favor of al most any one that will break the hold of the corporations on this town. Re sults are what we need, and it doesn't make much difference about candi dates." Several things have contributed to produce a situation so extraordinary and confusing. Bossism has played its part. Graft, both in politics and in business, has sowed disgust all round. Socialism, and municipal ownership policies, and increased anti-trust senti ment, have invaded the precincts of the two old parties and robbed party names of their valuein quarters where they long were cherished. The fields is one for speculation, and many ex experienced men are busy in it. Not His Hour. A Chicagoan was praising the late Marshall Field, says the Chicago Post. "Mr. Field was a kindly man," he said. "He spoke ill of no one. And when his opinion was asked of a per son, and it was not a favorable opin ion, he would express it in sitsh a gen tle and quaint way that its sting would be quite lost. "Once, at a dinner, I praised the con versational talent of a man across the table, I said to Mr. Field: . " Do you kilow him? I have met him,' the other an swered. Well, he is a clever chap,' said I 'He can talk brilliantly for an hour at a stretch.' "Then when I met him,' said Mr. Field, "it must have been the begin- ning of the second hour." NEW ZEALAND GUMDIGGERS Vhcn tlie Government Helps Mm Who are Down. Ovl bis head was set awry with care- lesa grace a wide-brimixued sombrero; hU ample calf -was tightly girt with, a pigskin legging that had seen better days; across his shoulder was thrown a gunny-sack concealing a weapon whose handle alone protruded; in his right hand he carried a trusty spear, as he marched with slow and meas ured tread from the confines of the city toward the brush and thicket. This nomad of the isles was not a brigand, but simply a New Zeolander who had fallen on ill luck, and was striving to "make a stake" again. No downcast spirit was his, either, for he knew that in that workman's paradise he could obtain employment at any time. Yet, strange to say, says the Phila delphia Record, no work in his partic ular trade was to be had just then, so he had applied to the nearest govern ment office for employment on a fall back job. Hence his peculiar equip ment and his jaunty air as he started out for the gum field. Arriving at the railroad station all the railroads in New Zealand save one are owned by the government he presented his pass and was soon on his way to the dis trict north of the Thames peninsula, having received from the government a n outfit transportation and a month's credit for food at the storehouse on the gum fields. Ages ago, when great trees grew be side which the towering Kauris of to day would have seemed imsigni Scant, the volcanic isle was even more lux uriant in its vegetation than it is now. Fire ravaged the principal forests again and again, and the sizzling pines and iron-woods gave up their sap, much of which in a molten state ran to the ground and then the loose top soil as if seeking refuge from the rag ing elements above. Great fields of this gum are found here and there throughout the North island, and in some parts of the south. The gumdigger selects a likely spot, prods into the earth for about eight inches or so with the spear until ihe point of the blade strikes something brittle; then down comes the gunny sack, the spade is taken out, and the gum is laid bare. It lies in cakes, about two to five inches thick, and these are shoveled up, broken off and dumped into the sack. No foreman is there, no whistle or bell calls the laborer to his daily toil; it is piecework for every' one and the longer one works the more he earns. The price of the Kauri gura is fixed by the government, tind averages 9 to 10 cents a pound evoirdupios. " bong continuance on the gumfield is discouraged; the man who goes there does so solely to regain a social and industrial footing, and if he keeps sober he never fails to accomplish his end. In spite of the fact that a gumdig ger as such, is looked down upon by the islanders, the freedom of the life appeals to a number of bohemian spir its from England and one can find a titled renegade, an Oxford wrangler, and more than one clerk in holy or ders digging up the Kauri gum for their existense. Gum-digging is not the only "fall back" occupation in New Zealand i During the season woll-running is m vogue, and any man who can push a wheelbarrow may earn his $3.50 to $5 per day running wool from the wharf sheds to the ships and dumping it into the hold, a bale at a time. In New South Wales and Victoria there are mines which are not rich enough in gold to tempt capitalists, mines that have been partly worked out, and the claims of which, have re verted to the government. Such claims are a godsend to the unfortunate city man of Sydney or Melbourne who has really come down to "hard pan." He can obtain from the government simi lar concessions to the gumdiggers of New Zealand, and in a few weeks can always pan out enough gold to set him on his feet again. No need is there for his remaining on these abandoned reefs. A month at gold digging on a fall-back reef is not exactly a luxury, but it is better than poverty, and it preserves to the individual that in dependence of spirit that characterizes the colonial. These are not the only, but the prin cipal, fall-backs of the southern islands Thus is pauperism prevented and the freedom of the subject assured. The government of the Federal States of Australia, as well as that of New Zea land, stands direct sponsor for a num ber of these undertakings and is indi rectly concerned in many others, among which may be mentioned a pub lic restaurant in Sydney, N. S. W., where you may eat a really first-class dinner or supper and yet be dead broke This is but one of the anomalies of the land where Christmas is the hottest day of the year. Woke up in Bureau Drawer. (From the Detroit News) Waking from a sound sleep to find himself tucked tightly in a top bureau drawer was ihe experience of Gus Sohkle, general stage producer for H. C. Whitney, the morning of the 'Frisco earthquake. Mr. Stohkle was in San Francisco staggling a series of Mana ger Wrhitney's musical comedies at the Tivoli Theater, and was stopping at the New Congress Hotel, at OTarreU and Eddy streets. "Mine was one of tho freakish exper iences of the terrible disaster," sys Mr. Sohkle, "I was very tired from long rehearsing and slept soundly. I thought I had a nightmare when I opened by eyes, tried to stretch out and found myself wedged in as tight us could be in a bureau drawer in the middle of the room. I think my first sensation was one of amusement, and I found myself laughing. "Then the Becond shock came, and the bath tub from the adjoining room shot Into the room. I could not ztt jseit out of the bureau drawer for " what seemed like hours, but was prob- abiy about fifteen minutes. I could gjis falling, but otherwise there seemed to be an unnatural stillness." AX UNNATURAL COMBINE Bat the Public Not Surprised at its Manner of Formation. No doubt Senator Tillman read the story in curly childhood about the "Greeks bearing gifts; But the j "steed" came upon him so unexpected- ; ly, and was so pretty to look upon that he forgot for the time being hi former enemy and yielded. Now that he realizes his mistake he is putting ! up a good fight with the chances of ! winning the victory in the pubii..-' mind. But the walls of his air castle ; bavfc crumbled. There never was a ; more unnatural combination in the '. nistory of American politics than Roosevelt and Tillman and the coun try in not surprised at the outcome Some are very much surprised that Mr. Roosevelt has taken the turn that he has and in the manner that he did. with the evidence in the hands of his partner in politics hU new ally. But as to the result there is little sur- prise. There will be charge and counter-charges and the matter will finally dwindle down and evervthins will be left about me rate Din came. members will g - .. cue wiuuiuc as 5U5s,riwx uui viu honor and clear skirts. As to the opinion they have of the President well maybe we will hear it before the fall. Hight Point Enterprise. ... lt Cured Her. Mrs. Bellefleld is very jealous of her husband and her friends know of her failing says Tit Bits. One of them had a little fun at her expense the other day in consequence of this trait. Toward the close of an afternoon call Mrs. Dukane said to her: .-vu x. i- . Oh, by the way, I saw your hus- band today at the conversazione." "Yes? He seemed to be enjoying himself, I suppose?" He did, indeed. Was he ever :n love with Mrs married vou?" Oinwiddle before he Pm sure I don't know, but it's quite likely. Was she at the conversa zione?" "Yes; and I saw her bend toward your husband and say something in a condentially low voice." 'You didn't catch any of the con versation?" "No." Mrs. Dukane took her departure, and Mrs. Bellefield waited impatiently for her husband's return home that even- ing. "Oh, you shameless man!" she ex claimed, as he rook off his overcoat and hung on the hall rack. "What's the matter now?" he asked in deep surprise. where it was before ,VL 8 which was captured by hom with mneh I . . tf. Iore aay IJnt' the c .TX Vr, J btinff ter driven out by the Fed- "There you are, putting on an inno-!"1 cent face, as if the whole town wasn't f aKT.cuuurai department talkine about vour flirtation with thar tU.rneil'here after an absence of six taiKing aoout jour miration with. tnatiweeks most of tho Um(k havIn ht.vn Dinwiddle girl. j in Xew York where his little son is un- "Flirtation!" He repeated, in a der special treatment in the hospital. dazed sort of way. f From the office of the state labor "Yes, flirtation! Now don't pretend commissioner blanks are being sent she wasn't at the conversazoino to- i out containing- questions to the farm- Ha,. "Yes; she was there." "Oh, you'll admit that much, will you?" "Certainly." "Then what were you and she talk ing so confidentially about?" "We weren't talking confidentially." "I suppose she did'nt even speak to you?" Yes, she did!" "Ah! Now I've got you. Tell me what she said!" "She was one of the waitresses, and she asked me if I would take coffeo or tea." Fooled Only Himself. . A dinner was given in Yvette Gil bert's honor in New York, and the distinguished actress made a little speech in English, says the New York Globe. "My English is not so good," she said, "but it is not so bad, either, as the French of a New York gentle man who went to see Mme. Bernhardt to play. "This gentleman would laugh when it -was sad in the play and he would weep when it was gay. He desired you see to seem to know all the French, but he was stupid a little. "At the first act's end a comedian, a great artist of the company, came before the curtain and said in French a few words. Whereupon all the house was silent; but the New York gentleman for encouragement, ap plauded long and loud. "'What for do you applaud? "said the neighbor of the man. " 'So as to make it appear that I understand French, eh?' " 'I thought so much, said the neighbor, with a great frown. 'And do you know what the artist you aie applauding said?" " 'No. What did he say?' demands the other one. " 'He said, replied the first, 'that j the rest of his part would be taken j bv his understudy, because he has j just received a cablegram mother is dead in Amiens." that nis Flowers Tltfat Torn to Fish. Facts - as strange as fairly tales abound in the sciences. There is a flower, for instance, that turns into a fish. That is one of the fairylike facts of science. The flower in question is the stone lily, which grows to the size of a small tree in South America water, though it is very small off more northern coasts. The stone lily is a marine flower; it lives under the sea; and that is a luck and convenient thing for the flesh it untimately be comes. The fish it becomes is a starfish. There is a certain starfish born at the end of a tentacle, an actula plant tentacle, that is attached to a stone or rock in the sea. This plant grows, and its starry blossoms acquires size and strength. Finally, when it is ca pable of taking care of itself, the blos som detaches from its plant stem, And floats awav a flower no longer, but a fish. J Tills is the encrinite, or stone lily, a fish-plant with -a pedigree that shames the proudest-human pedigree, for dis tinct traces of it have been found in frocks a million, years old. Exchange. THE POSmOD OF 0. C. THf3 Battlefields Around Petersburg Visited By Tar Heel Veterans. roiUon 3Un and ZZih Nona Carolina IlccimenU Easlljr Found. Weather Unfavorable for the Cotton Crop -Great Nerd of Labor in the State Charters by tins Stale Pcti t!on for Ite-Clamincmtion of Freight lta:es. (Special to The Messenger.) Raleitfh. N. C.. Mar 1. Secretary j ol tate Ortmes returned today from the battlefields around Petersburg, J where he and Mr. Henry A. London j went with a view to locating positions , c( x .rth caraiin, t--. r Ca Q ? ! ' ' , "c Yht k.tobe : p:a;ed ln the hIs"ical collection, a ' sneI1 and bul,et from battery -N- uoo .j, una also brought (ir3 : mm a- -.rt riuman which was the - no a miik attack by North j Carolinian?. Mr. rimes says that tley . fwud very readily the 'position he 34th JVlJ 35lh Nortb Carolina regrimenu which were cut to pieces la j u.v.iuii on me r eural works in (June. 1764. and alo th nnslMrm r . 1. v - . .. me .nn Carolina troops in th can- ture of Hare Hili and I'ort Stedman. March 24th 1S65, la Genera! Lees last i ?frort to break General Grant's line, all ' tht?!! work being very clear and dls- , f." ffi .maLked, V w!ih tr from ls hm thitV, u1 roWln upon vnem, mis portion of the cround being left about as it was when Lee and Grant abandoned It. On the side next to Fort Mahone the entrenchments o the old eU .. ur " ine eox nouse have been t-u up. leveled and obliterated, but the positions of the forts are easily ascertained a numK . states have awaked n Yh imnnrEnS or marking these battlefields around Petersburg which were the scenes of srorne of the bloodiest conflicts of the entire war, and their markers are to be seen here and there, also some mon uments. The next. legislature here will be asked to make provision for the fame sort of thing. Secretary of State Grime is a i.ir I farmer, and he was asked what was I the outlook as to the cotton crop now. "e repnea tnat tne weather is very un favorable, the soil excessively dry, and that much cotton is not coming up while many planters who suffered from frost or the dry weather do not know whether to replant now or to wait for a rain. Mr. Harold Hume, the talented head V?e suD-uepartment of horticulture f i -!-. iiie-iia.iwi:s unu newspapers or tne i-mir.-, anu t-uou ouier question mank will be J-ent out to the manufacturers. Information is beginning to cme in already from the farmers, these sav- ing that the condition of the wage earners is more favorable. There i a great cry from all quarters as to the the lack of labor. This time the farm ers are asked, and so are the mechan ic?, their view as to the desirability of immigration and also what is the mot desirable class of immigrant." The farmers generally are replying that they desire Immigration, while the mechanics as a rule are saying they do not want it, their ground against It being that wages will be reduced. Labor Commissioner Varner Rays this belief is erroneous and that there is simply a great demand for labor all over the state. It is noticed In the replies sent In by mechanics that there Is a desire for shorter hours among the trades. This year no inquiry villi be made as to the question of the de sirability of Compulsory education of the children, the replies for several 5-ears past having clenrTy shown the great general wish for a law to this effect. It Ls said that there ar a num ber of what may be termed "runt children in mills here and thr. There is no way for the department to get at the true ages of children. The Labor Commissioner says that the Iabor law of 1S03 now in effect. whll a mild one. has done much good and has aided greatly in filling the schools by taking many children out of tit" mills who were under the ae of 12. The legislature has not been called on as yet to enlarge the powers of th Labor Cotrmisslcner in s-:urlng in formant relative to vlolatl n-i of the law. there t ?in.t now, as stated, prac tically no powf r teyond the mere ak- i in r ,u V-onr j darters are granted th Pr,'re j Harness Company, Lenoir, cipital ! stock $20,000. Joseph A. Prl;- and others stockholders; The Itoanok" Rapids Bridge Conpany, calal utoek $50,000. H. C. Cooper and others stock holders, to build and maintain oil or free bridge across the Roanoke rivr connecting the counties of Hall fax and Northhampton: the O. V. Frlx Company Incorporated. Salisbury. o deal in pianos and other musical ?n strumentP. capital stock $120.00. The commission will on the 2?th ln- Ftant hear Messrs. Capps of the Sea- ooarn Air L.me, treen or me ouin ern, and Bryan of the Atlantic Coast Line representing the freight depart ments of those systems, and Inciden tal !v the other roads in the state, upon a petition which has been filed bv all the railway companies for re-e!as5fl-ratlon of the freight rates. The road have not as yet set out what sorts of reduction they want, but have asked to be heard on the question, and the com mission has named the day above eriven for such hearing. By an error your correspondent was made to say a day or two ago in speak ing of the approaching meeting of th State Board of Agriculture, that It had already elected a new professor of agriculture at the Agricultural and Mechanical colege. What it bad Inten ded to say was that it woubl elect at the meeting, now onlv a few days off. a professor of agriculture and a pro fessor of textile industries. Terrible plagues, those itching, pes tering diseases of the skin. Put am end to misery. Doan"a Ointment cures. At any drug store. at the ball game, isn't it, George?" "I guess it is. my dear' when the um piring suits it. But why do you think It's good natured?" I noticed that whenever I asked any question about the game everybody laughed." Cleve land Plain Dealer. The Democratic !." ",. . , ""V'" in a ai" bui